Après L'Enchantement
by The Green Archer
Summary: Becoming a prince again was just the beginning. Post-movie fluff.
1. Une Proclamation Nouvelle

"_Belle, it's me." He took a step forward, and Belle, in dumb disbelief could only stare at him, this handsome stranger who only moments ago, had been the beast. Tentatively, she raised a hand towards him. His titian hair was soft, like the beast's. His eyes were round, blue and familiar. They reminded her of the eyes she had seen in a torn painting once in the West Wing. No, she realized, they reminded her of the beast's._

_Her face lit up as she suddenly made the connection. "It is you!" she cried._

_The beast, now a man, placed his hand against Belle's cheek. There would be a time for stories and explanations, but it wasn't now. There was something he wanted to do first, something he had been longing to do for weeks but could never do while he was a beast. _

_There in the rain, he and Belle kissed._

* * *

The days following the celebration ball passed by in a confusing haze for the prince. Now that the other kingdoms had found out where he had been hiding, there was a never ending line of French lords and noblemen coming to the castle, wanting to speak with him, wanting to know what had happened in the ten years he had been absent and wanting to know why the prince and his servants hadn't come back into society until now.

Cogsworth and Lumiere were both exceptional in making up a cover-story for their guests, explaining that the prince had decided to travel abroad in that time, but the prince knew he could not hide from everyone forever. He was royalty and whether he liked it or not, he had a kingdom to rule. So, when he wasn't being tailored for new clothes, or answering letters from other kingdoms (which now arrived quite frequently), he was getting a crash course on being a prince from Cogsworth, a tedious task that involved learning both French etiquette, and politics. He had a name now too, Adam. It was a name he hadn't gone by in ten years, but still, it was his, and now that he was a human again, he had to use it.

In all the chaos that was the prince's new life, Adam found he had less and less time to see Belle. They didn't even have time to eat together anymore, since he was so busy with his royal duties. Still, now that he was a human again, and now that his life was coming back at him so quickly, he knew it was only fair that he tell her everything. So one day, after completing another exhausting tutoring session with Cogsworth, he visited her in her room and told her his story from start to finish; how he was a prince, how his parents had both died when he was a child, how his spoiled and selfish nature had caused an enchantress to turn him into a beast, and how, after ten years of solitude, Belle's love for him had managed to change him back. Belle didn't interrupt or ask questions the entire time. Both of them understood that Adam hadn't wanted to share those things with her while he was the beast.

"I know things are really strange right now," he finished. "But I promise, it won't always be this way. Once Cogsworth and I have sorted out all the...mess, and convinced the aristocrats that I am really here to stay, we should be able to spend much more time together. It won't exactly be like it was before the enchantment, but...,"

Belle smiled. "You can take as long as you need, _Adam_," She said, putting a particular flourish on his new name. "Besides, you're not the only one in this castle who's been busy. Angelique has needed a lot of hands to help with the castle redecorating."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "She's not working you too hard, is she?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Belle insisted. "It's really quite enjoyable. Even Chip and Sultan come in to help from time to time."

Adam tried to picture Chip and his dog decorating the castle, and found he could not, at least not without disastrous results. "Well if you ever needed to talk to someone," he said, as he moved closer to Belle, "I'll try to be here."

Belle blushed. Try as she may, she could never really get over how handsome her beast -prince, looked. "Thank you," she managed to say with a slight stutter.

The smile on her face was the most beautiful thing Adam had ever seen. Without really thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. It was a long, passionate kiss and it made Adam wish he had known what it felt like to be a human sooner.

A sudden knock on the door broke Belle and Adam from their embrace.

"Come in," Belle said tentatively. The door opened, to reveal a flustered-looking Cogsworth. Even as a human, he still had the same waddle in his step that he had had when he was clock.

"Oh, there you are your grace!" he said as he caught sight of the prince. "Lumiere and I have been looking everywhere for you. There is something urgent that we must discuss with you, right this instant!"

Adam grimaced. "Can't it wait?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not sire," said Cogsworth. "This news is of vital importance to maintaining your position as prince. You must come at once."

"But -,"

"Go with Cogsworth, Adam," Belle said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was going to go downstairs to see my father anyway."

Adam sighed. "Very well," he said to his majordomo. "But this better be urgent."

* * *

"A _marriage_? Where does it say that?"

Cogsworth hastily flipped through the parchment on his desk as he spoke. "Why it's practically the law your highness!" he said. "All princes in your lineage must be married by their twenty-first birthday. Now, your parents originally put you down to marry to a princess from Brittany, but due to circumstances beyond our control, and the fact that you cut off all the communication with the other kingdoms during the enchantment, she has since married a prince from another province, which leaves us with the challenge of finding you a _new _bride!"

"Well that shouldn't be too difficult," Lumiere said coyly from where he was standing behind the prince. "Why not have the master marry the woman he already loves?"

"Belle?" Adam looked at his maitre d' in disbelief.

"Who else?" Lumiere said triumphantly. "She's smart and kind and beautiful, she will make a fine princess!"

"Exactly what I was thinking, Lumiere," said Cogsworth. He scribbled something down on to the parchment as he spoke. "And what's more, we can have the wedding right here in the castle! We'll just set aside a day for the master to propose to the girl, and then -,"

"No!" Adam shouted. The exclamation came out louder than he intended, and both Lumiere and Cogsworth turned to look at him in alarm

Adam, realizing his mistake, collapsed into the armchair chair in front of him. "I'm sorry," he said in a softer voice. "I just...I can't ask her to do this for me."

"But master," Lumiere said in surprise. "Belle loves you! You know that already."

"I do. But this is different. I can't ask her to marry me just because some law says I have to marry someone by my twenty-first birthday. She deserves a better reason to be proposed to than that."

"Then by all means, you must tell her monsieur," said Lumiere. "Tell her the way she makes you feel. How beautiful she looks. You both love each other, so a marriage should only be the next step."

"I know, but -,"

"Also consider your grace," Cogsworth added, "You've been gone for ten years. The nobles are getting suspicious. The least you can do to assure the people of your direction is to marry someone, as is tradition."

"I understand, Cogsworth," said Adam. "But does it have to happen so soon?"

"Yes, or else there will be many, and I mean many complications!" said Cogsworth. "More than you have on your plate already. I say you propose to her now, and quickly, before it's too late."

Adam sighed. "Fine," he said. "Just...just give me a few days to think about it."

And then without a word, he got up from the chair and left the room.

* * *

_DeviantArt cover image credit: ADAM AND BELLA by ~FERNL._


	2. L'Inquiétude de Prince Adam

"Well that certainly went nicely," Lumiere said once the master had gone, "He's going to spend the rest of the afternoon sulking in the West Wing now, thanks to you."

"Are you blaming me for him walking off?" Cogsworth asked, "I wasn't the one prattling the master about how a marriage should be the next step for him."

"Well you could have at least been a bit less political in your talking," Lumiere said, "_The least you can do to assure the people of your direction is to marry someone, as is tradition._"

Cogsworth's face turned red in anger, "Why you -,"

But at that moment, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Potts, who was coming in to deliver the prince's afternoon tea. "Goodness, what's going on here?" she said as she noticed the two bickering servants, "And where's the master?"

"The master?" Lumiere turned away from the majordomo to look at Mrs. Potts for a moment, "He has left, no thanks to this _crétin_ over here."

"Hey," Cogsworth said darkly, "You take that back, you pretentious, bigheaded candelabra!"

"Stop it both of you!" said Mrs. Potts, "It's disgusting the way you two behave! I thought being humans again would have knocked some respect into you at the very least. Now, why don't you both just sit down and tell me what happened?"

Lumiere and Cogsworth were still mad at each other, but they didn't dare disobey their cook. They sat down in the armchairs in front of them and told Mrs. Potts about the wedding, as well as Adam's unexpected reaction to it.

"The poor dear," Mrs. Potts said sadly once they when they were done. "First a human, now a marriage. Seems he became a prince too quickly if you ask me."

"Well maybe if _some people_ didn't work him so hard already," Lumiere glared at Cogsworth as he spoke.

"There is nothing wrong with my tutelage, thank you," Cogsworth said, holding his head up pretentiously, "I am merely carrying out my _job, _unlike some people in this castle who think that it's alright to walk off with _feather dusters _at certain times of the day."

Lumiere looked aghast. "I do not walk off with –,"

"Stop it!" Mrs. Potts chirped, "You're being silly, both of you! We all care about the master, and we all want to help him. Now, what we need to do, if we want this proposal to work, is to send someone to talk to him and find out what's bothering him."

"I will go," Lumiere volunteered. "I am the master's _right-hand man _after all."

"Since when were you his _right-hand_?" Cogsworth retorted, "I specifically heard him name me his best servant at the celebration ball last week."

"Well if neither of you can decide," Mrs. Potts interrupted, "Then I will go. The master needs his tea and goodness knows how much damage you two have done already."

"And exactly what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Lumiere asked. "We still want to help the boy."

"Well, you can start by helping him prepare for the engagement," Mrs. Potts suggested. "A ring for Belle would be nice."

* * *

Adam knew it had been rude of him to walk out on Cogsworth and Lumiere like that, but after a long day of lessons, talking with servants, talking with the builders repairing the southwest wing of the castle, and now being told that he had to propose to Belle, he desperately needed some time to cool off. It had been a demanding day, and really, all he wanted was to lie down and think things through for a little bit.

"Adam?" Belle's melodic voice caught the prince completely off-guard. He looked up to see her standing in the corridor across from him, book in her hand, evidently just come back from the castle library. It was such a typical thing for Belle to do, and Adam couldn't felt relieved that at least one thing in this castle hadn't changed.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she approached him, "You look upset."

Adam scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm fine," he lied to her. "It's just...I'm...it's been a long day."

"I got a new book," Belle said, trying to cheer him up, "We could read it together if you like."

Adam sighed. On any normal day he would love to listen to Belle read a story, but today, he found he just wanted to be alone. "Not right now," he said to her, "I have a headache."

He left her alone in the hall, feeling awful. Why was it that the one person who would understand his feelings happened to be the same person he couldn't share them with?

Entering the West Wing, Adam was met by a flood of light coming from the windows opposite him. Their brightness only irritated him more; it seemed that his servants again, had forgotten his request to keep the drapes closed when he came in.

After closing the curtains himself, he flopped himself on to his canopy bed and began to look around his room. It had only been two weeks, and he still couldn't wrap his head around how different the place looked. No longer a vision of his former hate and anger, the West Wing had been cleansed of all the broken furniture, decorations and carcasses it once contained, to be replaced with violet drapes, new furnishings and a spotless marble floor. Hardly anyone would know that a ferocious beast had once lived here, and Adam wasn't sure whether he was happy with this or not. The new West Wing was nice, but at least he had had more freedom to express himself in the old one.

Once Adam had finished looking over the room, he rolled on to his back, and thought again about his discussion with Lumiere and Cogsworth in the bureau. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry Belle; on the contrary, he had been thinking a lot about it since becoming human. He knew he loved her, and he couldn't picture having anyone else for a wife but her. _But would a marriage to him make Belle happy? _

Adam owed so much to Belle. She had befriended him, taught him manners and taught him to read, all without saying a word of what she wanted in return. As friends, perhaps that wasn't necessary. But as partners, things would be different. What was it that Belle really wanted? Adam suddenly wondered. As her husband, would he be able to give those things to her?

Adam's thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Who is it?" he asked dully, expecting Lumiere or Cogsworth.

"Mrs. Potts dear. How'd you like a nice spot of tea?"

He slid off his bed and opened the door to come face to face with the stout old lady herself. "How did you know I was here?" he asked her in surprise.

"Oh, intuition I suppose," Mrs. Potts said as she wheeled her tea cart into the room, "And the two little birds I talked to on the way here."

"Are they mad?" Adam asked.

"Who? Cogsworth and Lumiere?" Mrs. Potts began pouring some tea into a cup as she spoke. "Of course they aren't. They're just worried about you. As am I." She handed Adam the tea cup and gave him a sympathetic look. "I know things are difficult for you now love, but we all just want to help. A marriage is not always an easy thing, let alone a proposal."

Adam walked over to the window. "It's just...I'm just worried about how Belle will feel about all of this." He confessed.

"Belle is an understanding girl your grace," said Mrs. Potts, "I'm sure she'd be happy to help you secure your position as prince."

"But if she'd be happy marrying me is a different question."

Mrs. Potts looked at the prince in astonishment. "My word, you really have changed," she said. "It seems only yesterday you were an ill-tempered boy refusing shelter to a poor old lady, and now that the right girl has come along you've...,"

"Improved," Adam interrupted, "I know. But what am I supposed to do Mrs. Potts? I can't just ask Belle to marry me. How will I know she'll be making the right choice if she says yes?"

"I know you worry for her, master," said Mrs. Potts, "But you keep on forgetting one thing: Belle_ loves_ you. She wouldn't have come back to the castle or broken the spell if she didn't. Besides, if you're really so concerned, maybe you should talk to her father."

"Her father?" Adam's ears prickled at the sound of those two words. "But Mrs. Potts, I can't talk to him...not after...,"

"You can, and you should," said Mrs. Potts. "Monsieur Dupont is a nice man, and I think it would be a good way to make amends with him before the wedding. Now drink up your tea, before it gets cold. Heaven knows you need it."

After Mrs. Potts left the room, Adam lay down on his bed and thought about her suggestion on seeing Belle's father. He supposed that it was the right thing to do, but at the same time, the idea of seeing the same old man he had both terrified and locked away in a freezing dungeon made him feel guilty. Could Maurice truly forgive him for what he had done?

Eventually, Adam fell asleep. He dreamt that Belle had left the castle to marry that dark-haired man, Gaston, and he was watching their wedding from the sidelines. He tried to call out to Belle and say that she was making a mistake, but then Cogsworth appeared and told him that he shouldn't be meddlesome, as she would be happier living with Gaston than with him anyway. Then Adam's hands began to turn into claws, and he became the beast, only this time there was no one to break the spell and all his servants had left the castle. He woke up with a start, and tumbled, unceremoniously out of bed.

"_Merde."_

He hadn't had a nightmare like that since Belle had come to the castle. Untangling himself from his bed sheets, he noticed a small box on his bedside table that hadn't been there earlier. He opened it to see that it contained a ring, and a note written in Lumiere's ornate handwriting:

_Voici l'anneau__ que votre père a donné à votre mère. Dépêchez-vous. _(This is the ring that that your father gave to your mother. Hurry up.)


	3. Pardon et Bénédiction

"I feel so worried for him Papa," Belle was saying, "When I saw him yesterday, he just looked so _miserable._ I felt like…it was almost like he was the beast all over again."

"Oh, don't you worry about it so much, Belle," Maurice replied. The two of them were sitting in one of the castle's disused cellars, which the prince had given to Maurice to use as a makeshift workshop for his inventions. "I'm sure there's a good reason for the way he was acting. Maybe he was just having an off-day."

"But Papa, he was acting so _distant_," Belle said, "He opened up to me so much when we were living in the castle together, it just seemed odd. I mean, I understand as prince that he has a lot of catching up to do, but after yesterday, I've just started to feel really concerned about him. It doesn't help that I don't even know what he's thinking."

"Well, why don't you just tell him how you're feeling?" Maurice suggested.

"I would, but I don't even know where he goes now Papa! We barely see each other anymore. I just, uh...I don't know," she hung her head in her hands, "Sometimes I think that the spell changed things a bit too much."

"There, there," said Maurice as he came over to pat his daughter on the shoulder, "I'm sure things will clear up eventually. Now, instead of sitting around and being gloomy, how about you go and get your old man some breakfast? That's one great thing about living in a castle, no more eggs to fetch."

Belle laughed. "Yes, I should probably get us something to eat," she agreed.

As Belle left the cellar, she didn't happen to notice the red-haired man standing against the door, watching her. Adam had come downstairs early to talk with Maurice, and after listening overhearing their conversation, began to feel guilty. He knew he had acted coldly to Belle last night, and as he saw the sad expression on her face, he felt tempted to call her back and apologize. It was the decent thing for him to do, but it wasn't what he had come down here for.

Once Belle's footsteps had finally faded, Adam held his breath and knocked on the cellar door. He was immediately startled to hear a loud crashing noise come from the inside. "Tarnation, not again!" said a voice, "Ouch, my foot!"

"Monsieur Dupont?" Adam shouted in alarm, knocking on the door again. "Are you alright?"

There was a pause, in which the crashing noises subsided, and then the door opened to reveal Maurice himself, dressed in green overalls and wearing a pair of odd goggles on his face. "Oh, oh," he said as he saw who his visitor was. "Why good morning your majesty!" He bowed to him uneasily. "You'll have to excuse me; the room is a bit of a mess, I usually don't expect visitors this early."

"_Pas de problème, monsieur_," Adam said, forcing a smile on his face. For some reason he felt inclined to use his prince voice when he spoke, "I didn't mean to disturb you from your work. I heard crashing, are you alright?"

"Oh yes," Maurice said as he hobbled on the spot. "I just stubbed my toe on my wrench, that's all. Please, please, come in."

Adam tried to remain calm as he followed Maurice into the cellar. He suddenly felt extremely insecure; the last time he had had a conversation Maurice, it had been one in which he had chucked him into a palanquin with the assurance that he would never see his daughter again. Trying to distract himself, he drew his attention to an odd contraption standing in the centre of the room. It looked like some sort of wagon, only it had both a stove and an axe attached to it. "Is that what you're working on?" he asked, nodding to the strange machine.

Maurice took off his goggles and threw them into a box at the side of the room. "Yes," he said. "It's actually a remake of a woodcutting machine that I built back home. I was hoping to win a prize for it at a local fair, only I got lost in the woods along the way."

"Oh," said Adam. He wondered whether he was referring to the night he had stumbled upon the castle. "Well I, just hope the room is to your liking. I know it's not the brightest room in the castle but…"

"It's fine," Maurice said. He removed his gloves and threw them in the box with his goggles. "I actually wanted to thank you for lending it to me, your highness. I have a lot more room to work on my inventions here than in the cellar back home. In fact, if possible, I think I'd like to come back here and use it from time to time."

"Of course monsieur," said Adam, "It's been a while since the castle had an inventor."

Maurice smiled. "So," he said, sitting down a barrel and gesturing Adam to do the same. "What brings you down to see me your highness?"

"Oh," Adam sat down on the barrel opposite Maurice and scratched his head. He hadn't actually thought about what he was going to say to the old man and realized now that may not have been such a bad idea. "Well…," he began, "You see… because I am a prince now I need to fulfill certain requirements…and…well, what I need from you… what I mean to say is…I'm here to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."

Maurice almost fell off his stool in shock. "You…want marry my daughter?" he asked.

Adam held his breath, prepared for the worst. "Well that's...that's wonderful! My Belle marrying a prince, imagine that!"

Adam looked speechless, "You mean, you approve?" he said in disbelief, "You're alright with me marrying her?"

"Of course!" Maurice was positively ecstatic, "As long as it makes Belle happy I have no objection to you two getting married."

"Oh," Adam didn't know what else to say. He hadn't expected the old man to give him such a quick response. "Well then, thank you, thank you so much for your blessings sir."

He supposed he was supposed to get up and leave now, but something was holding him back, something else that he wanted to say to the old man. Maurice must have noticed his struggle, for he said, "I'm thinking that maybe this wasn't the only reason you wanted to see me, your highness."

Adam shook his head and got off the barrel-stool. It was easier for him to think when he paced.

"M. Dupont," he began, "I love your daughter. She is such a beautiful and extraordinary woman; I cannot imagine marrying anyone else but her. But it is because she is so wonderful that I also worry about her." He took a breath before he continued.

"Belle can be very selfless. She took your place when I imprisoned you. She came back to save me when the castle was under attack, even though I had released her and given her the freedom to live whatever life she wanted. Belle has never told me much about her life outside the castle, but I do know that the two of you were making plans to start a new life together, in a new town where she could fulfill her dreams of adventure. As a prince, I cannot give her those dreams as easily. I care for your daughter, and I know in many ways that marrying her would be best for me, but I'm afraid that it may not be best for her. She's so free-spirited, and I don't want her to be making another selfless decision by agreeing to marry me. I just…I want to know that she'll be making the right choice."

Maurice smiled, feeling an immediate sense of pity for the young man standing before him. Who knew he could carry such love for his daughter, him, the same beast who had thrown him into a dungeon and taken his only daughter prisoner? Truly, the night Belle had traded places with her father had been no accident. She and the Prince were meant to be together, just like Maurice and his own wife had been once. He sighed. _Georgine, if only you could see the man who wants to marry your daughter, I know you would be so proud._

"Your highness," he said, forcing himself back into the present, "Do you remember that man who came to the castle? Gaston?" Adam nodded, after all he wasn't likely to forget the man who had almost stabbed him to death.

Maurice continued, "I'm not sure if Belle told you this, but back at the village, Gaston wanted to marry her. He was a very attractive fellow: strong, charming, handsome, everything all the other village girls wanted in a husband. But not Belle. She saw what was in his heart, and knew that Gaston was not the man for her. Even when he threatened to lock me away an asylum, she still refused to marry him."

Adam was in disbelief. He thought locking Maurice in a dungeon had been bad, but an _asylum? _How could Belle possibly say no to a threat like that?

"Does seem a bit dramatic doesn't it?" Maurice said in understanding, "The point is, if my Belle could turn down the handsomest man in town, even after he threatened to lock me away, I'm sure she can make the same kind of decision about you. She may be stubborn and she may be selfless, but she's also strong. If she believes that you are the right person for her to marry, then so do I. I do not doubt that she will make the right decision."

So that was the answer then? Adam let out a sigh. Mrs. Potts was right, he had nothing to worry about. But he still felt like he had something else to say to the old man, something he wanted to get out now before it was too late, "I want to apologize," he said hesitantly, "For the pain I caused you earlier. I locked you in a dungeon and took your daughter away from you without letting you say goodbye. It was cruel and inconsiderate of me, and I'm sorry."

Maurice smiled. "Your grace that was a long time ago. Just seeing you dance with my daughter has told me that you are not that same beast anymore. Besides, now that I know the whole story, I can see that having Belle stay at the castle wasn't such a bad thing for her after all. I mean she certainly improved you, your highness."

"Please," said the prince, "If you're going to be my father-in-law, I must insist that you call me Adam from now on."

* * *

Adam left the cellar in much better spirits than he had been the day before. He had made peace with Belle's dad, and earned his blessings, without a single argument passing between them. There was nothing that could have prevented Adam from proposing to Belle now.

Adam's chain of thought was broken, as he caught sight of a brown-haired maiden descending the spiral staircase. Belle had returned with Maurice's breakfast.

"Oh!" she said with a start as she noticed the prince coming up the stairs, "Why, good morning Adam!" _What was he doing here, of all places? _

"Bonjour, Belle," Adam said. "It seems funny that we are both reduced to running into each other in the halls and staircases now, isn't it?"

"Yes," Belle said, pulling a stray hair to the side of her face, "What are you doing near the cellars? And so early?"

"I went to talk to your father," Adam explained. He was not going to lie to her about that, "I wanted apologize to him for what I did earlier."

A sympathetic look passed over Belle's face, "Adam, you didn't have to –,"

"Please. And I owe you an apology for yesterday too. I wasn't myself, and I would tell you everything, but not right now." Belle raised an eyebrow inquisitively. _When then? _

"Listen Belle," Adam said, wanting to do something to cheer her up, "Have you seen the gardens yet?"

"No," said Belle. She hadn't been in the grounds since the spell had broken; it felt rather empty when there was no one to walk with.

"Great, then we will go," said Adam, "Tomorrow, at noon, I'll take you. We'll have a nice walk in the grounds together, just like old times."

"You're not going to be too busy?" Belle asked in surprise, "I thought you had lessons."

"I can take a break from them if I want to," Adam said. He would just alert Cogsworth and Lumiere of his plan, tell the tailor to pick out his best outfit and then...

"If we go, will you tell me what's bothering you?" Belle asked.

"Of course I will," Adam said with a smile. "When I come to your room tomorrow at noon I'll tell you everything."

"Alright then," Belle said. She still looked sceptical, so Adam walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"_Je t'aime ma chérie."_

He walked, or more like bounded up the stairs, leaving Belle to wonder exactly what he was so happy about.


	4. Un Conte Incomplet

In the library, Belle was reading a book. One of her old fairy tale books to be exact:

"_I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," said the man. He was quite handsome, and Briar Rose wondered vaguely who he was and where he had come from. But then again, it wasn't exactly her place to find out. _

"_Oh it wasn't that," she said as she tried to saunter out of his grasp. "It's just that you're a, a ...," _

"_A stranger?" he laughed,_ _"__But don't you remember? We've met before!"_

"_We have?" Rose stopped her struggle and blinked in confusion._

"_Of course," the man said with a smile, "You said so yourself: Once upon a dream!"_

Belle sighed as she read the familiar passage. She remembered how it had always been her favourite part of _Sleeping Beauty_, back when she had lived in that poor provincial village with her Papa. Back then, she had been a different person, a person who believed in magic and fairytales, and living her own adventures.

And now? Since she had just experienced her own fairy tale, Belle felt her perception of her stories had changed a bit. She flipped to the end of the book.

_And they lived happily ever after. _

That was it. Belle closed the book with a loud thud. Somehow she wished that the author could be more specific. After all, "happily ever after" could mean so many different things, to so many different people. Was she living her "happily ever after" with Adam now? Even she couldn't say. She supposed they had reached some sort of conclusion: the spell had been broken, the household objects restored, the Beast had turned back into a prince…but past that, was this really what her happily after was supposed to be like? Being shut away in a castle, not being able to see Adam, and not knowing what was going on half of the time?

"_When I come to your room tomorrow at noon I'll tell you everything_."

As hopeful as that sounded, it also seemed to frustrate Belle. All she had done for two weeks was wait, and the less she saw of Adam, the more worried she became. She would like to talk to him, only he was never around to talk _to_. And this is what bothered her most. _Would Adam always be working hard like this?_ _Would they ever be able to spend time together like they used to?_

Belle's trail of thought was lost as Mrs. Potts came into the library pushing her tea trolley.

"Everything alright dear?" Mrs. Potts asked as she offered her a cup of tea. "You've been awfully quiet today."

"Oh, I'm fine…," Belle said to her idly, "I'm just thinking."

"You know you can tell me anything, dear," Mrs. Potts continued, "I'm an open book."

Belle sighed. She had already talked with her father that morning, but she supposed she could trust Mrs. Potts. After all, she had served Adam for years. Maybe she could help."It's just," she hesitated for words, "I'm worried about Adam."

And then the real gush came. Belle told Mrs. Potts everything; how she felt she was drifting from Adam despite wanting to be there for him, how she felt in some ways he was changing faster than she could keep up, and how she felt frustrated that she had to sit behind closed doors in all of this and simply hope that at some point Adam would come to her and tell her everything would be alright.

"I don't mean to be selfish, I know he has a kingdom to rebuild," she finished, "It's just, lately I've been feeling so shut out. I wish I could talk to him. Help him, if I could."

Mrs. Potts looked at Belle sadly. In some ways, she could almost predict that the girl would be like this. After all, she had had no one, except her father to talk to for two weeks. Cogsworth had made it near impossible for her to see Adam, which seemed unfair; the two of them deserved time with one another after all they had been through, not time apart. If only Belle knew that the master was going to propose to her soon, she was sure her attitude would be quite different.

"You know the master is trying very hard for you dear," Mrs. Potts said sympathetically, "He cares about you a great deal."

"I know." Belle said as she lowered her head into her hands, "I just wish he'd realize that I care about him too."

Mrs. Potts sighed. "There now love," she said as she put her hand on Belle's shoulder, "I know things seem unclear to you right now, but the master does have a plan. He doesn't intend to keep you in the dark forever."

"Then why is he, Mrs. Potts?" asked Belle, and her voice almost sounded desperate, "Why can't he just tell me what's going on? Maybe I could help him."

Mrs. Potts smiled sadly. "You and the master are both the same dear," she told her, "You both worry about each other a great deal."

This last remark really struck Belle, "He's been worrying about me?" she repeated her brown eyes wide with disbelief.

Mrs. Potts realized the effect of her words almost a second too late.

"I need to talk to him."

* * *

After talking to Belle in the cellar, Adam's next stop was to find Cogsworth and Lumiere to tell them the news. They were both surprised and delighted at the prince's decision, even more when he told them how he planned to take Belle for a walk and propose to her out in the castle gardens.

"A splendid idea your grace!" Lumiere had said, "Be sure to show her _les rosiers _while you're there, no? We shall of course alert the gardener to make sure the garden looks perfect for tomorrow!"

"I will alert him now!" said Cogsworth as he made a dash for the stairs. Adam watched him as he went, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sure that the gardens already look fine," he muttered.

"Oh master, what's a little bit more work for the prince and his lady?" Lumiere said, as he put his arm around Adam, "Like I've said, _life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving._ Besides, we all just want to make sure that you and Belle have the best for tomorrow."

Adam smiled at his maitre d'. He hadn't realized until then how grateful he was to have Lumiere as his servant. Even before the enchantment, Adam had not been an easy prince to serve, and the fact that Lumiere continued to look out for him, after all the things he had done in the past, suddenly meant a great deal to the prince.

"Lumiere," he said, "Thank you. For everything."

* * *

The trouble was that Belle couldn't find Adam. None of the servants knew where he was, and her search through the castle turned out to be vain: he wasn't in West Wing, the library, the dining room or any of the other rooms in castle Belle thought he might have been in. She was just about to give up searching, and hope that she would maybe run into him later, when she passed by a door to a room which she had never been in before.

Since she hadn't had much success elsewhere, she thought she would give it a try.

"Adam?" she called tentatively.

There was no response. Curiously, she stepped inside.

The room appeared to be some sort of bureau. Maybe Cogsworth's. Or Lumiere's. Near the back was a desk overflowing with all kinds of parchment. Intrigued, she moved forward to take a closer look. They appeared to be letters, documents, proclamations even, some dating back to before Belle was even born. She supposed maybe they were reviewing them. It had been a long time since Adam had been a prince after all. Picking up a document that had been dated some twenty years ago, Belle read in a fancy script:

_Be it resolved that Adam Eugène Michel César Emmanuel Évrard, the prince of the province of Touraine and the son of his highness Vincent Damien Abel Winoc Raphaël Évrard and his wife, Catherine Alphonsine Dominique Jacquette Coline Évrard, will be wed to Évelyne Lilianne Sibylle Jocelyne Axelle Hugues, the current princess of Brittany by his twenty-first birthday. Should this act not pass and the prince not be married by his twenty-first birthday, he will risk forfeiting his place as heir to the throne of Touraine and must hand it over to the second highest authority within the province. _

_Signed,_

(A list of official names followed).

Belle felt confused_. _Did this mean that Adam was getting married? To this Évelyne, this princess from Brittany? Is this what he had wanted to talk to her about?

She collapsed abruptly in the armchair in front of her. If Adam was getting married, then what would happen to her? Would he ask her to leave, to return to Molyneaux with her father? Was this the secret he was keeping from her?

"But wait a second," Belle thought, and she looked at the parchment again as though to confirm, "Adam _loves_ me. He wouldn't just drop me to marry a woman he doesn't even know, would he?"

"_He might have changed," a voice inside of her suggested, "He's a prince now, remember? He has to live up to his commitments, and maybe he sees you as a distraction."_

"_But that's not true!" another voice insisted, "He wouldn't just abandon you, not after all you've been through together." _

"Belle?"

Belle jumped up from the chair at the calling of her name. The speaker was a person she didn't want to see right now. Adam. He was standing in the doorway with Cogsworth and Lumiere. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look like he really wanted her to be there either.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, "And why were you touching those?"

"I...," Belle stuttered. She couldn't even look at him. She didn't know what to say, whether to explain herself, whether to demand an answer out of him, or whether to fall down and cry over what she had just found out. "I..." she dropped the parchment and ran out of the room.

"Belle!"

Adam looked back at her, bewildered. The only time he had seen her that upset had been well…that night when he had first made her prisoner. Had something happened? He looked to Cogsworth and Lumiere to see if they had an answer, but they both looked as startled as he did.

"You must talk to her, master," said Lumiere.

Adam nodded. Then he took off in the corridor, after her.

* * *

"Belle!" Adam shouted, "Belle!"

He didn't understand why she was running. Or why she had been sitting in the bureau, reading those documents in the first place. All he knew was that something was definitely wrong, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

As Belle moved down the corridor, she was struck with the guilt that what she was doing was foolish. She should be facing Adam, not running away from him. Running was for cowards. Like the villains in her stories. And Belle was brave, wasn't she? She was supposed to confront her problems, not hide from them. But here she was, running. Like a coward.

Eventually, Adam cornered Belle by a staircase landing and pulled her to a halt. He spun her around and turned her to face him.

"Belle, what happened?" he demanded, "Are you all right?"

She couldn't even look at him. She didn't know why, but for the first time ever, she wanted to be alone, to think, to not be in his presence. But Adam wouldn't let her go. Gently, he took her hands and brought her into his arms. "Please, tell me what's wrong," he said softly, "This isn't like you. Belle? BELLE!" He shook her by the shoulders. She shuddered, and then her voice came out small and hysterical.

"You want me to leave, don't you?" she asked.

"What?" It took a moment for the prince to process this. "Belle, what are you talking about?"

"I read that form back there. You're getting married to a princess."

Adam stood on the stairs, perplexed. Since when did he have to marry a princess? Then he remembered – the proclamation! Of course! He couldn't help but laugh; no wonder Belle was so upset. "Belle, you misunderstand," he told her as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's an _old_ proclamation. Things have changed since my parents wrote it; that princess is married to someone else now. I'm definitely _not_ marrying her."

He smiled, but Belle continued to look at him, conflicted. So maybe she had overreacted a bit, maybe that proclamation _was_ outdated. But still, there were some that didn't make sense. "It said you had to be married by your twenty-first birthday," she told him, "Or is that an old law too?"

Adam's smile began to slacken. "Uh…well, that is…we're still working on it," he said nervously.

Belle raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "So then, you _do_ have to marry someone," she gathered.

"Belle, I…look what were you doing reading the stuff in that room anyway?"

At this, Belle moved a strand of hair away from her face. "I was looking for you," she explained hesitantly, "I wanted to talk."

She turned away from him before she continued. It was a bit funny, she had had no problems confiding her feelings to Mrs. Potts when she was back in the library, but now that she was alone with Adam, she didn't even know where to start. "I don't like how we don't spend time with each other anymore," she said after a brief pause, "I feel like since the enchantment's lifted, we've been distant with one another. Like you've been keeping secrets from me."

Adam looked surprised, "I'm not keeping secrets from you!" he insisted. _Except maybe one._

"Then why do you want me to stay at the castle?" she inquired, "I really have no reason. I'm not a servant, and what will the other people in your kingdom say when they realize that you've been keeping a village girl in your castle for the past six months?"

"Belle no one is going to say anything – "

"Then why do you want me to stay? Tell me Adam!" She was shouting now, her voice echoing across the corridor. Adam stared at her in amazement. He had been so busy with his own worries on being a prince; he hadn't even stopped to think about what Belle was thinking. And now, he didn't even know how to comfort her without telling her the truth; that he wanted to marry _her._

A heavy pause transcended between the two. Adam began to fidget with his hands. "I can't," he sighed.

The look of disappointment on Belle's face was enough to break his heart. "So I guess you'd think that I'd be perfectly okay sitting around, waiting for you to come to me, is that it?" she said, her voice thick with anger, "Like you'd just keep me here like some sort of a _prisoner?_"

"_Tais toi!_" Looking at Adam, Belle could see that his eyes were now flashing with rage. For some reason it felt satisfying, knowing her frustrations were going into him. Maybe now they would finally understand one another.

"You think you're the prisoner here? Put yourself in my shoes for a moment," he said, "I've spent ten years trapped inside this _putain château_, waiting for someone to break my curse. And now that it's been broken, I have to spend all my time inside, catching up on ten years of work; learning how to talk, how to act, how to be someone I'm not, for a kingdom that I barely even know! You think I enjoy spending time away from you, Belle? I hate it! I want to be with you more than anything, but because I'm a prince I have to do this. I have to!"

"But it's making you unhappy." Belle looked at him sadly, "Please, let me help you. Don't shut me out like this."

"You can't help me in this kind of situation!"

"And why not?"

Adam felt his head beginning to throb. If he kept this up he was going to get another one of his headaches, and he wasn't particularly fond of those. "Because," he said, trying to be honest without being too explicit, "I have to marry someone."

Belle felt as though she had fallen through the earth and back without really moving at all. She immediately regretted making Adam confess; it sounded ten times worse coming from him, and suddenly the conversation they were having became meaningless; she found she couldn't be there any longer.

"Wait Belle!" Adam shouted, "Let me finish; you need to understand – !"

"Understand what?" Belle scoffed, "I think you've made it perfectly clear, _your majesty_. I don't want to interfere with your duties, in fact, I'll tell Papa that we're leaving tomorrow, so you can invite your princess over, get married and act like none of this ever happened. That is what you want, isn't it?"

"BELLE!" Adam yelled. But she was already gone, leaving the prince standing dumbfounded at the top of the stairs. He didn't understand. Everything had been perfect until now, what had happened?

"_Sometimes I think that the spell changed things a bit too much."_

Maybe she's right, he thought. As he sat down on the stairs and reflected on the past couple weeks, he realized that he had even more problems to deal with now, than he did in those ten years he had spent as the Beast. How could he be a supporting husband for Belle when he had a throne to reclaim and a province to rebuild? To make Belle stay through all this would be selfish. She would be a prisoner again, he realized. Not that she wasn't one already: _So I guess you'd think that I'd be perfectly okay sitting around, waiting for you to come to me, is that it? Like you'd just keep me here like some sort of a prisoner?_

"Master?" Lumiere said, having found the prince sitting alone on the stairs, "Is everything all right?"

Adam turned around to face his two servants. "Call off the proposal," he told them quickly, "Call off everything."

"What?" Cogsworth exclaimed, "But master we just – "

"That's an order, Cogsworth!" said Adam, "And tell no one to disturb me for the rest of the day."

He got off from the stairs and stormed down the corridor, leaving the two servants completely flabbergasted.

* * *

Belle moved unseeingly through the castle corridors, trying to fight back the dam of tears welling up in her eyes. _"I should have known. I should have known," _she thought to herself. Of course she and the prince weren't meant to last. _Pour l'amour de Dieu, _their whole relationship was based on an _enchantment! Un enchantement!_ What did she expect? That after the spell broke they would somehow get by and live Happily Ever After?

Yes, she realized, that was exactly what she thought. But of course she was wrong: Adam was going to marry a princess, become the prince he was meant to be, and her and her father would return to Molyneaux, to carry on with their lives as though their life at the castle had never taken place.

"_This is what I get for falling in love with fairy tales,"_ she thought bitterly, _"Well, I certainly don't need him!"_

Huffing angrily, she stormed into her room – well her temporary room now, and sat down on her bed. It was here, staring at the four walls around her, that she felt her anger began to dissipate. She couldn't leave this place, she realized. It was her home now, more of a home than any of the villages she had lived in with her father, even before her mother had died.

"_Mama." _Just thinking of her now was enough to bring tears to her eyes, _"I wish you were here, I don't know what to do. I can fight him, I can throw a million insults at him, but in the end I can't deny it; I _love_ him. I can't just leave him. Aide-moi, s'il te plait."_

But help didn't come. There were no words of wisdom, no big epiphany for Belle. _Rien._ Not she expected anything to happen. She knew, just as she had known ten years ago when she realized her mother was not going to get better, that she was on her own. There was no one to guide her, no one to give her what she needed. All she could hear was Gaston's voice, as though he were coming back from the dead to taunt her: _"Belle, it's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things."_

_But I can't. _Belle thought miserably.

She felt the tears well out, and she couldn't stop them.

* * *

As soon as Adam entered the West Wing, he slammed the door, knocked down a table and kicked a chair towards the window so hard that the pane almost cracked. "_Merde!_" he shouted to himself angrily, "It's not fair! Am I not supposed to get anything?"

Going over to his bed, he threw off the blankets, the pillows, and then ripped the curtains off from their rails. After five minutes of tearing apart his room, including knocking over his bedside table and throwing the box containing Belle's engagement ring across the floor, he finally came around.

_"Mon Dieu, what have I done?"_ Just a moment ago, he had been angry beyond belief, and now he was ashamed, ashamed of the fact that he had just let his temper get the best of him and that he had destroyed his room – again. Had the enchantment taught him nothing?

Trying to catch his breath, he sat down on the floor and buried his head in his hands. It was all over. He knew that Belle and Maurice would need some servants to help with their packing, but he couldn't get himself to call for them now. All he wanted to do was escape; much like he had done those years he had spent as the Beast. The proclamation still stood, and he would have to find another girl, most likely a duchess to marry him, but he didn't want to think about that. He didn't even want to think about Belle leaving him and living her own life away from him. That was especially painful to think about.

He sighed heavily. If only he could go back, back to a simpler time when he the only thing he had to worry about was earning Belle's love so he could break the spell and be human again. He would do anything to get those days back now. Even if it meant waiting those ten years in the darkness all over again.

Suddenly, Adam looked up from the floor. He had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He quickly scanned his room for an intruder, but there was no one. Maybe he was imagining things? But then he heard it. Her voice, sending chills down his spine just as it had that Christmas Eve many years ago.

"_So, you're letting her go, are you?"_

He almost didn't want to turn around, dreading what he was about to see. But he did anyway.

There, standing on the balcony, just as beautiful and as terrible as the night she had first cast the spell, was the enchantress.


	5. La Réconciliation

"_You came back." The Beast's voice was barely a whisper. He smiled, but the smile only made her feel worse. She could only imagine the pain he was in. _

"_Of course I came back," she said, trying her best to sound brave, "I couldn't let them...," Her sentence trailed off as the beast let out a shudder. From underneath her, she could feel that his breathing was becoming more irregular. Maybe she was already too late. _

"_Oh this is all my fault," she said as she pulled herself closer to him. "If only I'd gotten here sooner." _

"_Maybe...maybe it's better this way." _

"_Don't talk like that! You'll be alright," Belle said, brushing her hair back nervously. She tried to open the clasp to his cloak, but her hands, whether from the rain or her own anxiety, could not seem to stop shaking. "We're together now. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." _

_The Beast sighed. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to confess, but he would never have a chance now. His time was up. And yet, he found he could care less. "At least," he said gingerly, lifting his paw up to Belle's cheek, "At least I got to see you one... last...time." _

_Belle smiled sadly. She took the Beast's paw in her own hands and held it there. It felt so warm, so comforting, how could she have ever thought Beast was a monster with such soft paws? But suddenly his grip began to slacken. Belle opened her eyes as the Beast's paw slip away from her face; his eyes rolled back, closed and with a soft thud, his head fell back on to the cold stone floor, where he remained motionless._

_All time seemed to have stopped_

"_No," she said in a whisper. "No!"_

_He couldn't be dead, he couldn't! Days of reading books together by the fireplace, eating dinner together, walking outside in the grounds, they couldn't all just be memories now! She remembered how he had rescued her that day in the woods, how they had become friends despite their initial disagreements, how he had changed for her, opened up for her, even tried to understand her love of reading, something no one in her village had ever tried to do for her. Every happy moment she had spent at the castle, she realized, had someway or other involved the Beast. And now that he was gone, it was like all those happy moments had suddenly gone too. _

"_Please, please! Don't leave me!" she pleaded._

_A painful feeling was rising in her throat, it was worse than the day she had first been imprisoned in the castle, worse than knowing she would never see her father again. She remembered the look of dejection the Beast had had on his face after he had granted her freedom. She had been so concerned for her Papa then; she hadn't given herself much time to think about why the beast had looked that way. But now she did, for she felt it, tearing her right down in two. It was heartbreak, and it was unbearable. _

_Burying herself in his cloak, she forced out the words she had wanted to say all along, but never truly realized. "I love you." _

_And then she lay her head on his massive chest and wept. The Beast would never hear those words, never know she cared for him the same way he had cared for her. She was too late._

_It was almost silly that only a few months ago had Belle been dreaming for a life filled with adventure, like the fairytale books she read back home. Now, as she sat in the pouring rain, she realized exactly how naïve she had been. Adventure would mean nothing to her now, unless it could be shared in part, with the Beast. _

* * *

"Mademoiselle?" Cogsworth knocked nervously on Belle's bedroom door, "Might we have a word with you please?"

Belle let out a sniffle, "Please, go away."

"Ah, you'd best let her be Cogsworth," Lumiere said from where he was standing outside Belle's door, "She's obviously in no state to talk to us right now. Perhaps we should come back later."

"But Lumiere," Cogsworth replied, his eyes wide with horror at his friend's suggestion, "How are we supposed to get to the bottom of the master's behavior if she won't tell us what happened? Might I remind you that the master only has one month to marry the girl before he has to give up his throne? And do you know what will become of us if that happens? "

_"Oui, oui,"_ Lumiere said insipidly,"We'd be as useless as we were when we were enchanted objects. But, don't take this the wrong way Cogsworth…it's not that I don't care that our mademoiselle is upset, but perhaps, given the circumstances, we are simply are overreacting a bit."

"Overreacting!" Cogsworth looked at Lumiere as though he had just said something profane.

_"Oui._ It could be that they had an argument about something and simply need time to cool off."

"An argument in this stage of their relationship? Lumiere, I thought they were past all this claptrap already! What could they possibly have to argue about now that the spell is broken?"

"Cogsworth, my short-sighted friend, it is clear to me that you do not know much about love to think that Belle and the master's arguing would simply end after the spell broke," Lumiere said, talking to Cogsworth as though he were a small child, "Arguments are a _normal_ part of any relationship, just like the ones you and I have from time to time."

Cogsworth grimaced. "Well we don't have time to put up with their…_normal relationship problems_," he finessed, "You know how pushy the aristocrats have been getting lately, enquiring about the prince's marriage. And then there's been those letters, like the one from the Duchess de Gourmandisse…clearly she's seeking more than just an audience with our "unmarried" prince, if you know what I mean."

_"Je suis d'accord," _Lumiere said with a nod, "But the point is –,"

_"Oh, Lumière!" _Lumiere and Cogsworth turned around to see a very attractive brunette girl in a maid uniform walking towards them.

Lumiere's eyes immediately lit up. _"Babette, mon amour!"_ He quickly tried to maneuver himself towards the former feather duster, but Cogsworth held him back.

"See, this is what your problem is," he hissed, "You always let yourself get distracted right when we have_ important matters _to deal with!"

"Relax, Cogsworth, this will only be a moment," said Lumiere, breaking out of Cogsworth's grip. He turned to Babette and smiled. "_Ma cherie_, do not be offended by him, he is only jealous."

"I heard that!"

"Oh Lumière," Babette sighed as Lumiere placed his arms around her waist, "What is this news I've been 'earing about ze master marrying another princess? I thought he intended to propose to Belle, did he not?"

"Of course he did," said the maitre d', "But - wait a minute, did you say he was marrying a princess?"

"But of course" Babette blinked, "Unless I am mistaken?"

"No, no, my love, please continue. Where did you hear this?"

"I know it was not my business, but I 'eard Belle and ze master talking while I was dusting ze banisters downstairs," Babette explained, "Poor Belle sounded very upset. She seemed to think he was going to marry someone else!"

"Well that's obviously not true," Cogsworth said pompously, "The only person that the master intends to marry is Belle!"

From inside her room, Belle suddenly looked up. Had she heard Cogsworth correctly? The master wanted to marry _her?_

"Lumière, I must get back to work now," said Babette, as she ran a hand down his chest, "But you may call for me later if you so desire."

"Of course," Lumiere said. He gave her a quick smooch on the cheek, "We shall meet again tonight, yes?"

_"Peut-être," _Babette said with a smirk.

Cogsworth rolled his eyes. "You know what I think?" he said once the voluptuous maid was out of earshot, "I think that the master just can't think for himself, that's what! Honestly, if he doesn't start _acting his age_ and get his priorities worked out, this whole kingdom is going to fall to pieces!"

"Perhaps he had second thoughts," Lumiere mused. He admitted that this all seemed very strange. If the only reason Belle and the master were quarrelling was because she thought he was marrying someone else, then why had he suddenly decided to call off the proposal? There was definitely something else going on here…

Cogsworth was about to make another comment about the master's behaviour, when he noticed Mrs. Potts coming down the hall towards them. From the flustered look on her face, it was clear that she was a bit of a predicament. "Oh thank heavens I found you, I've been all over the castle…have either of you seen Belle?" she asked, stopping to catch her breath.

_"Mais oui,_ she is in her room right now," Lumiere said in surprise.

"And indisposed!" Cogsworth added, "We think she and the master must have had an argument, because now he's angry and she's upset."

"The poor dear," Mrs. Potts said sadly, "I'm afraid I'm too late."

"What do you mean?"

"You know our Belle," she explained, "She was so concerned about the master. I tried to tell her that things would be alright, but then she took it the wrong way and went to go look for him."

It was then that Lumiere realized something. "Mrs. Potts, you went to see the master yesterday," he said, "Did he tell you what was bothering him?"

Mrs. Potts looked surprised, "Well, I'm not sure it's really right of me to talk about the master's personal feelings without –"

"Please, Mrs. Potts," Lumiere pleaded, "The master has just called off Belle's proposal, and we want to figure out why. Maybe it will help us to fix this rift that's suddenly come between them."

Mrs. Potts sighed and lowered her head. "He just needed some advice," she explained, "He was afraid that if he proposed to the girl, she would only agree to marry him because he _asked_ her to, not because she _wanted_ to. Of course, I tried to assure him that Belle already loves him, but he still seemed to have some doubts."

Cogsworth and Lumiere both looked dumbstruck.

"We must fix this, right away," Cogsworth said after a brief pause, "I don't care what's going through that head of his, he cannot do this to us anymore. Especially when he has a kingdom to take care of."

"I agree with you entirely," Lumiere said, "But the question is who is going to be the one to poke the master out from his den? I certainly am not up for it." He looked from Mrs. Potts to Cogsworth, but it seemed pretty obvious that none of the staff wanted to talk to Adam. He may not have been a beast anymore, but that still didn't mean he couldn't be violent from time to time. Sending a servant in to talk to him could either go very well, or very, very badly.

"I'll do it," a new voice finally spoke.

The four servants quickly turned around. Belle was standing outside her room.

"Mademoiselle!" Cogsworth was the first to ramble, "You weren't supposed to…what did…how much did you hear?"

"I heard enough," Belle said, moving a strand of hair away from face, "So, Adam really doesn't want to marry someone else?"

"Of course he doesn't, child!" Mrs. Potts blurted, "The only person he intends to marry is _you!_ He just…wasn't ready yet."

Belle lowered her eyes. "I should apologize to him." she said. Now that she looked back on their argument, she realized that she had been in the wrong, not Adam. She was the one who overreacted and not given him a chance to explain himself. If anyone was going to clean up the situation, it was her. She just hoped Adam would forgive her for being so foolish.

"Are you sure, mademoiselle?" Lumiere said in concern, "We could tell the master to come to you or –,"

"No, I'll go," Belle said firmly, "It's the only way to fix this."

And with that, she began to make her way down the corridor. As the three servants watched her go, they couldn't help admire her for being so brave. Surely, if anyone could find the way to the master's heart, it was her. They only hoped she would be able to help him before it was too late.

* * *

"You," Adam stammered as he got off from the floor, "What are you doing here?"

The enchantress glided into the room, her blonde hair swaying around her as though caught in a breeze. _"To see you,"_ she said, _"I sensed great grief."_

Adam felt his hands begin to clench into fists. Part of him wanted to open the door and run as far from this awful woman as possible, but he knew from past experience that that wasn't exactly a smart thing to do. She was an enchantress after all. One wrong move and she could turn him into something much worse than a beast.

"Belle is leaving," he confessed after a moment of hesitation, "She thinks I'm going to marry someone else, and that I don't 'love' her anymore."

He cringed, expecting her to punish him, but she only stood there, looking perturbed, _"And is that true?" _she asked. _  
_

"What?" For an enchantress who had turned him into a monster, she was acting surprisingly humane, "Of course it isn't! I love Belle, more than anything. I just thought…"

"_You think it's better if Belle goes back to the village than if she stays with you." _The enchantress surmised.

Adam nodded. And then he looked away. He wished he wasn't saying these things to her. They made him feel even more like a monster. Caught by a surge of anger, he quickly slammed his fists into a chest of drawers.

"_Mon dieu, _I _hate_ this!" he cried, "Why can't you just change me back? I wouldn't have this responsibility anymore. I wouldn't have to be a prince. I could just be me, and Belle and I could be together, the way we were before all of this!"

The enchantress's eyes began to flicker ominously, _"Do you really think it would be better if I changed you back?" _she asked.

Adam froze. He realized the implications of what he was just saying, and cursed himself for not being more careful. After all, he was being stupid; _of course_ he didn't want to be a beast again! He had waited ten years to be free of that wretched form. He loved being human, loved being able to hold his silverware properly, to wear clothes that actually fit him, to look in the mirror and know what he was seeing was not the result of a mistake, but the face of the man he had been all along. Why would he say such a foolish thing?

The answer came to him just as quickly as the question. Belle.

"_I don't want to interfere with your duties. I'll tell Papa that we're leaving tomorrow, so you can invite your princess over, get married and act like none of this ever happened. That is what you want, isn't it?"_

"_Of course that's not what I want, Belle," _Adam thought. All he wanted was to be human. But if that meant losing her because of what he was, maybe…just maybe it wasn't worth wanting anymore. She gave up her freedom because of him. Maybe it was time he returned the favor.

The enchantress, if anything felt a deep sense of pity for the young prince standing before her. It was the same kind of pity she felt when he had lost his parents, and then when she had cursed him. After all, she was not really a cruel enchantress at heart, only one who wanted to do justice. Now, after ten years, she could see in the prince the things the curse had left behind that she could not get rid of. He was no longer spoiled yes, but he was full of so much inner-conflict and uncertainty, it was hard for her _not_ to pity him.

"_Your highness,"_ she said gently, before he could speak, _"I know you are trying to be noble, but understand, I cannot undo what has already been done. The spell has been broken, and to place it on you again, when you are undeserving of it, would not be right."_

Adam winced. "Then what should I do, Enchantress?" he asked desperately, "I don't want Belle to leave, but I don't want her to be unhappy here either."

The enchantress looked at him pensively. _"Let me tell you something about the girl, your highness. It was no coincidence that she came to this castle. I chose her for you for a reason."_

"You _chose _her?" Adam was intrigued.

"_Well I couldn't just walk in and put a curse on your household without planning it out first," _the enchantress explained,_ "I knew since you were a boy that what you needed was guidance. Something to lead you in the right direction. I searched far and wide, and eventually decided that the love of a girl would be what would show you the way._

_Of course bringing you to _the right one _was difficult. Belle and her father travelled quite a bit in her youth, and it was almost ten years before they settled down in a village that was close enough for me to get them to the castle. So then, why did I decide to take a risk, choosing Belle over the dozens of other kindhearted girls who could have broken the spell years before the last petal was supposed to fall?"_

Adam shook his head. Although he was pretty intrigued; there were _others _who could have broken the spell before Belle did? This didn't anger him so much, but it definitely surprised him.

"_Because I knew that Belle was different," _she continued,_ "I knew she would be the one to love you regardless of what form you took in the end. Of course, predictions can be faulty at times, and there were moments when I had my doubts, but in the end it seems, I was right."_

She looked at him now, and her eyes were filled with…what was the word…compassion?But that was absurd, why would an enchantress feel compassion for a human? Unless she wasn't as bad as Adam was making her out to be. _"Your grace," _she said,_ "Belle doesn't care if you're a Beast or a Prince. Her only fear is losing _you. _By letting her go, you are hurting her more than you can imagine."_

The prince suddenly had a flashback to the night he had first released Belle from the castle. That night he had been in agony, believing he would never see her again, that she would never love him the same way he loved her. Was that how Belle was feeling right now? Because of him? "I must go to her," he said quickly.

The enchantress smiled. _"Good. But you're forgetting something,"_ She raised a finger, and the engagement ring Adam had thrown on the floor earlier came flying towards him. He quickly caught it in his hands.

"_You have nothing in your way anymore," _she told him,_ "It is time you put aside these doubts and did the right thing."_

* * *

"_Adam wants to marry me," _Belle thought as she made her way up the stairs. The thought made her feel strangely giddy like she was – how did her books describe it? _Entichée. _It was completely different from how she felt back when Gaston had proposed to her. When he had asked her she had just felt uncomfortable, but now, she felt…ecstatic, invincible, like she was walking on air. She wondered if this was how the blonde triplets felt around Gaston, and then giggled; she never thought she would ever compare herself to those three airheads before.

As she came to the corridor where the master's room was however, she felt her thoughts begin to sober. She knew she had a problem to deal with. Specifically what she had overheard Mrs. Potts say while she was in her room: _He was afraid that if he proposed to the girl, she would only agree to marry him because he _asked_ her to, not because she _wanted _to._

"Why would Adam think I wouldn't want to marry him?"Belle wondered aloud. She already loved him, as if he hadn't realized that already, so what else was preventing him from proposing? Did he think she wouldn't be happy living with him? Or that he wouldn't make a good husband?

"_But of course he'd make a good husband, there's nothing wrong with him!"_ she thought. Now that he was through with his 'beast-phase' she could honestly say that he was just as flawed as the next person. So then why _wouldn't_ she want to marry him? She turned a corner and a new thought came to her. Maybe he thought _she _wasn't ready. After all, she had only known that he was a prince for two weeks. Was she really ready to be his wife after that? Or a princess? Would she be able to make Adam happy, enough for a lifetime?

As she approached the door to his room (which no longer had beast-shaped door knobs, she noted) she suddenly felt nervous. She didn't know what to say to him once she knocked on the door. She wasn't sure if he would he would even listen to her.

She was about to consider turning around and thinking about how to make the situation less ugly when the door opened.

"Belle?" Adam said in disbelief. He didn't know where he was going to find her, but he certainly hadn't been counting on her to be waiting outside his doorstep, like his servants did when they were too scared to call on him for something.

Belle gazed at her…lover, beau, fiancé…and felt her face begin to turn bright red. "Adam," she whispered. Why was she was acting so timid all of a sudden? This wasn't a stranger, this was _Adam! _Her Beast, her prince, her best friend. There was no reason why she should feel self-conscious in front of him, was there?

The prince took a step towards her. He moved a strand of stray hair away from her face. He took her hands in his. And then he hugged her. "Oh Belle, I'm sorry. Please don't leave. _Je t'aime, je t'aime."_

Belle closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest; just like she had the night they had first danced in the ballroom together. She didn't exactly know what was happening to her then, but she knew that no storybook would ever come close to describing it; this feeling of being in his arms and being so close to him_._ She could spend forever in these arms of his, she realized. And suddenly, as though this were a remedy for her lost confidence, she knew exactly what to say.

"Adam, it's alright. Listen to me, I was the one who overreacted and didn't give you a chance to explain yourself. I –" She stopped. She hadn't noticed before, standing by the doorway to Adam's room was a woman,_ the most beautiful woman Belle had ever seen._

"_Greetings, mademoiselle."_

Belle gasped. She knew in a heartbeat that this woman, this _thing_ could not be human. Everything about her seemed to surge with power, from her long blonde hair, to her eyes which glowed as brightly as the sun. She was just like the sorceresses she had read about in her books, only this one was _real. _"You're…you're…,"

"_An enchantress, yes," _The enchantress smiled_, "We met once when you were a child, although you probably don't remember."_

"Wait," She suddenly felt an old memory come back to her, "You were the old lady, I met back in Sille-le-Guillaume, weren't you?" The enchantress raised an eyebrow. "Of course! I remember I gave you some food when I saw how _poor _and _hungry _you looked. I thought it was fun to believe you were a witch, because of the gold shimmer I saw in your eyes. But then the reverend's wife heard me and told me I was speaking blasphemy, and I felt so _awful _I made myself stop reading fairy tales for almost a month!"

The enchantress laughed. _"I admit, it was one of the first memorable encounters I had had with a human child in a long while. I certainly did not forget about you. And it seems that you didn't forget me either." _She bowed, and then drew her attention to the prince, _"And I believe that this is where I leave you, your highness."_

"Thank you, Enchantress," Adam said. He wished he could say something more impressive to the woman who had brought him the love of his life, but could think of nothing. They shook hands, and then with a smile, and a blinding flash of light, she was gone. Belle was left staring mystified at the place where she had disappeared.

"Adam – ?" she began to ask, although what she was trying to say escaped her.

Adam took a breath. _"Alright Adam, you heard the enchantress," _he thought,_ "It's now or never."_ He turned around and took Belle's hands in his own.

"Belle," he said hesitantly, "I know things have been confusing for you and I want you to know that...I've been making this more difficult for myself than I should be." He looked away for a moment, realizing the sorry state his room was in, "So…," he said, his face turning red, "Would you consider…that is, would you like start over…and to um…go for a walk with me?"

Belle was confused. She wanted to know more about the enchantress, and why she had come to see Adam, but at the same time, she knew that this was important. She put a hand on his cheek. "Of course," she said gently.

They looked each other in the eyes and knew that one thing was certain: they had already forgiven each other.


	6. Une Demande en Mariage

The walk down to the castle grounds was quiet. Too quiet. Belle kept turning to Adam, hoping he was going to say something to her, but he didn't seem to want to make eye contact, and Belle, having nothing interesting to start a conversation on, thought it would be best if she didn't talk either. She was still trying to wrap her head over the fact that Adam wanted to marry her, and as they made their way downstairs, found it difficult not to just turn to him and admit that she already knew about the proposal.

Adam too was deep in thought, mulling over something he had realized upon leaving the West Wing. _He had no idea what he was going to say to Belle once they got outside. Great._ If he had prepared better he would have wrote something down and memorized it; but then again, he wasn't really great with words, and Belle had read tons of books already; anything he would write would only seem pitiful in comparison. So then, what else was he supposed to do?

By the time they made it to the front doors, Adam felt like a complete idiot. He hadn't said a word to Belle since leaving the West Wing, and had a feeling that if he didn't say something to her before they went outside, he never would. "Uh, Belle?" he said, turning to her.

"Yes?" Belle replied. Her voice came out shriller than usual, and she wasn't sure whether this was because she was startled or because she was anxious. Possibly both.

"Um," he scratched his head, fumbling for words. How did normal people get a conversation going? People who weren't about to get married that was. "That's a nice dress you're wearing."

Belle's eyes moved down to the pink gown she was wearing, "Oh, thank you," she said her expression lowering a fraction, "But…you've seen me wear this one before."

It took a split second for him to realize she was right. It was the same pink, frilly dress with quarter sleeves she had worn during her stay at the castle. One of his mother's old dresses._ Quel imbecile! _

"Wellitlooksgoodonyou! You should – I mean, I should tell Madame Armoire to make more dresses for you in that color," he said. Not wanting to continue this awkward conversation, he pressed on.

It wasn't until they were outside that the tension between them finally subsided. With spring in the air, the castle's formally muddy grounds were replaced by a layer of fresh green grass, while the surrounding trees and shrubs were beginning to grow out their buds and leaves. Belle, who hadn't been outside in almost two weeks, found herself entranced by the beautiful weather. She quickly bounded from the steps with the air of a caged bird that had just been set free.

"Do you smell that?" she said asked as Adam joined her on the grass.

"What?" he asked.

"Spring of course. Come on!" Without another word, she grabbed him by his arm and pulled him out into the grounds.

The next fifteen minutes had to be the most fun Adam had had with Belle since the spell had broken. They chased each other around the oak tree they had had their snowball fight by so long ago. They half spun, half danced around on the grass, the grounds filled with the sounds of their laughter.

By the time they were done, Adam was panting for breath, and Belle, who was equally worn out, threw herself down in the grass and closed her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" Adam asked as he crawled in beside her. He couldn't help admire how beautiful she looked, the way her hair fell loosely around her shoulders and the sun shone on her face.

"The book I was just reading," she replied.

"Which was?"

"Sleeping Beauty."

He smiled. "That was the one about the prince who had to slay a dragon and rescue a princess from a sleeping curse, right?"

Belle nodded, "One of my favourites."

"Mine too. And you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because the prince gets to do this," Adam brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Then he bent down and kissed her. Belle stiffened under him for only a moment and then she quickly lifted her own arms up to him in response. What they shared there was deeper, more passionate than anything they had shared before, and it filled Adam with a certain joy knowing that this was _real_, that he would be able kiss her like this from now on.

As Belle began shifting her hands from Adam's elbows to his back, she became aware of exactly how _close_ his body was to hers. Two weeks ago when he had first kissed her she had been swept up by the relief of him being alive…but now, there was a new sensation building up in her, something that was causing her heart rate to pickup speed as she imagined the things that _they didn't _talk about in fairytales. It was a feeling that scared her just as much as it thrilled her, and it was almost with disappointment that she felt Adam let go of her before they go any further. She forced herself to sit up, and saw that he was now sitting with his back turned to her.

"Adam, is everything alright?" she asked in concern.

Adam turned to her, and ruffled his hair nervously, "Belle," he said, "I never got to apologize to you for taking your father and making you my prisoner. I would do anything to take that back now. I promise I will never do that to you or to anyone else ever again."

Belle raised an eyebrow at him. _Why was he talking about this now? _"Well of course I forgive you," she said, "You're different now. I trust you. I know you never really meant to harm anyone."

Adam widened his eyes in surprise, "You really knew that?" he asked.

"Well, not at first," she admitted, "I guess it all goes back to that night you rescued me from the wolves. There was just something in your eyes that looked so _human, _like you were asking for someone to help you. I wasn't quite sure what it was, or even if I was imagining it, but I knew couldn't leave you out in the cold after that. And then, the weeks after, when I started to get to know you more I began to realize you weren't really a monster at heart, you were lonely and unhappy, just like me. At first I couldn't understand why. But then when you changed back and I learned about the curse, everything fell into place. You imprisoned me because you didn't know how else to become human again. It was a move you did out of desperation, not cruelty and I can't be angry at you because of it."

Adam shook his head. "I wasn't completely desperate," he said, "At first I didn't care what happened to you. I just needed someone to break the spell, and if you couldn't do it then I would have…," his sentence slipped off. This wasn't the sort of conversation he wanted to be leading his fiancée into.

"There were moments when I believed I was gone for good," he explained, "I felt like all I was _was_ a monster, and the enchantress had put the curse on me to show me that. As time passed I even wondered if I _deserved_ to be human again. I gave up all hope that it would happen. But then you came and I realized a part of me still cared, a part of me still wanted to be good, to redeem myself. You were the one who found that part of me Belle, and for that, I cannot be thankful enough. I love you, Belle."

"I love you too, Adam," She brushed a stray hair away from her face. "But you're not the only one who needs to come clean. I should apologize to you too. For leaving you alone that night."

Adam looked at Belle in disbelief. _She was apologizing for that? _"But your father, he was sick," he argued, "He _needed_ you."

"But you needed me too," she said sadly, "After the spell broke, I felt so bad, realizing how badly I must have hurt you by leaving you. And when you were dying," she shuddered, "I felt like I was the one responsible. I thought I had lost you forever."

Adam didn't know what to say to that. He had assumed Belle had put that night behind her, had she really been thinking about it all this time? "But that didn't happen Belle," he said, trying to cheer her up, "You _saved_ me. And we can be together now."

He put an arm around her, and Belle leaned in closer, trying to tell herself he was right. The truth was, she still couldn't forgive herself for what had happened two weeks prior and as she buried her head against his chest, the memories only seemed to become more vivid. She began to cry, as way of coping more than anything, and even though it made Adam feel terrible, he realized it was better that she was getting this out now than later.

"Promise me that you'll put all this in the past, Belle?" he asked as he ran a hand through her soft, brown hair.

Belle sniffled. "I promise."

He leaned forward and kissed her, thanking the enchantress for giving him the chance to know what it felt like to hold someone close to him, without having to pull away because of what he was.

* * *

With all the things that had gone on that afternoon, it was sunset by the time Belle and Adam made it to their real destination. The castle gardens were bordered by a stone fence and were decorated with carvings of cherubs and angels to match the rest of the castle. Adam had only been here twice to speak with the gardener, so he was quite curious to see how much work had been done on the place since. Opening the gate to let Belle in, he was pleasantly surprised.

"It's beautiful!" Belle was the first to remark. Her eyes widened as she stepped forward and took in her surroundings. The whole garden was filled with rosebushes of every colour imaginable, ranging from the deepest red to the brightest white. "I've never seen so many _roses_ in all my life!"

Adam smiled. He knew instantly that taking Belle to see the gardens had been a smart move. "My father had these rosebushes planted as a gift for my mother," he explained, surprised that he still remembered this story, "They were her favourite flower, so when she came to visit, he showed her this garden and asked her to marry him."

"Did she say yes?" Belle asked curiously.

"Yes," Adam said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "But…that wasn't the only reason they married."

Belle laughed. "It's a good story."

Adam stared at Belle intently. It was now or never. "Belle," he began, placing his hands into her own and looking her right in the eyes. "There's something I want to ask you."

Slowly, he guided her over to the bench; his heart thumping loudly inside his chest. He remembered how nervous he had been two weeks ago when he had danced with her in a ballroom, and felt that the anxiety he felt that that was a footnote compared to the way he felt now.

"Belle," he said, "Before you came to the castle I was unhappy, very unhappy. I hated what I had become, and hid myself away from everyone. I believed I would never find someone to break my curse."

He stopped to make sure she was still listening. She was. "That is, until you came along," he continued, "As long as you were here, it was like the light had come back to the castle. You gave me hope when I had none. You found the good in me, when I myself could not. There were even moments when we were together that I completely forgot I _was_ a beast. And as more time passed, the more I realized that the curse wasn't a cruel thing the enchantress placed on me for one mistake, it was my first step to understanding what it really meant to be human. You were the one who taught me that Belle. You made me want to be a better person, to love you, and know that you could love me in return. And when you finally broke the spell and I could show you who I really was, it was the happiest day of my life. I knew then and there, that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life."

Belle now watched, transfixed as Adam, hands trembling, pulled a ring out of his jacket. It was silver, with a small ruby carved in the shape of a summer rose. Upon realizing it was meant for her, Belle immediately clapped her hands over her mouth in surprise.

"Adam," she said in astonishment, "You don't mean - ?"

"I do," said Adam, "But understand Belle, I'm not asking you to marry me because of some proclamation or because I need to produce an heir. I'm asking you because I love you and I can't imagine myself marrying anyone else but you. And Belle..."

He came to a brief pause as he remembered his worries back in the cellar when he was talking to Maurice, "I want you to be happy too. You've already sacrificed so much for me; I don't want you to be giving up your dreams because of me. I want to know that this is really what you want to do."

Holding the ring up to her, he said, "Belle, will you marry me?"

Belle was silent. It was funny, up until this moment she wasn't even sure she could give him an answer. Now as she looked at him, she could see that he was so anxious, so willing. She knew he would do anything for her. Unlike Gaston, who would want her to abandon her books and serve him as his wife, Adam would never ask her to change for him. He loved her, and that was all she needed.

"Adam, you changed me too," she began, "Before I came here, before I met you I only saw the world through my storybooks. I would spend all my days in the village reading, trying to escape the dull, provincial life I was forced to be a part of. But being a prisoner here changed all that. It wasn't just that I had misjudged you; I had misjudged _life _as well. For the first time, I realized that good could come from bad, that I could _love _the world as it was, without having to see it through a storybook. And you…you were the one who helped me see all that."

She gently put a hand on his cheek, "Adam, I once wished for someone who could understand me. And now, not only have I found him, but he's shown me that I don't need an adventure to be happy. The real adventure I'm meant to be having is the one I'm having here with you."

And then she kissed him. It was the first time she had been the one to start the kiss, and Adam stood, momentarily frozen as he tried to absorb what had just happened. It took a moment, but then he realized that she was saying yes.

And his heart filled with unexplainable joy. Dropping the engagement ring, he placed a hand around her neck. He lifted her, weightlessly from the ground and they embraced; kissing each other with such fervor and passion, it was as though the whole world had melted away, except for them.

* * *

"Aha, you see that Cogsworth!" Lumiere said as he watched triumphantly from the window, "I told you he would do it! You got yourself worked up for nothing!"

"Excuse me sir," Cogsworth said with a grimace, "But I believe you were the one who was getting worked up, not me."

"I just can't believe it," Mrs. Potts said, feeling a tear come down her face, "They were barely even friends when they first met, and now…just look at them!"

"Are they going to have lots and lots of kids, mama?"

"But of course they will, Chip!" Lumiere replied ecstatically, "The whole castle will be filled with their little voices!"

"Ugh, unlikely," said Cogsworth. He had spent twenty-one years babysitting one prince; he seriously doubted he was ready to take on responsibility of babysitting _another_ child _if_ and _when_ it came to that.

Still, it was with a certain joy that the servants watched the master celebrate his new stage of life with Belle. They sat down to watch the sunset together and it wasn't until dusk that they finally came in to tell the rest of the castle the good news.


	7. Avenant

In a village not so far away from the castle Jacques Le Fou was sitting in front of a tavern counter, drinking his third mug of beer for the day. It had been four weeks since the greatest hunter in Molyneaux had been killed, and there wasn't a single villager who hadn't been touched or affected in someway. The gunsmith had closed his shop for a week. The bartender had roped off the section of the tavern where Gaston's trophies hung. The blonde triplets had made a practise of dropping off flowers at Gaston's grave everyday, saying things like_ "We still think you're the greatest!" _or _"Gaston, you were the most handsome man whoever lived!" _or _"We will never marry any other man because of you, Gaston!" _

It wasn't just the death of Gaston that had put such a large impact on the villagers however. It was the intrigue behind it. No one, not even the men who had come with Gaston to the castle that night could say exactly he had died. All they knew was that fifty Frenchmen had gone out to kill the Beast that night, and only forty-nine of them returned. And the one that was missing was the one who had led them there: Gaston.

At first, the men of the village weren't too worried that Gaston hadn't come back from the castle yet. As the strongest man in their village, they believed he'd be back within the day, beast's carcass in tow, and once he did they'd all go to the tavern to celebrate, _comme habitude_. Instead, about two days later, two richly dressed men rode into Molyneaux to present the village with Gaston's body. It was one thing for the men of the village to come to terms with the fact that the man wrapped in the cloth was Gaston, and another for them to accept that Gaston, their village idol was actually dead. Needless to say, the pallbearers were bombarded with questions:

"What happened?"  
"How'd he die?"  
"What killed him?"

"We've already told you all we know," the first servant said irritably, "The prince has simply asked us to return this young man to you so that you may give him a proper burial."

"Prince?" said Stanley, his eyes goggling, "What _prince?" _

"Why _Prince Adam_ of course! The son of King Vincent and Queen Catherine?" The second servant glared at Stanley as though challenging him to think otherwise, "Learn your politics young man!"

They left the villagers to take care of the funeral, which was a very tense and silent event. How could the greatest man in their village suddenly die without any explanation?

Indeed, Gaston's death had put a huge impact on the village, but the person it affected the most was Le Fou. As long as he had been Gaston's lackey, he was someone. But now, he was a nobody. With no huntsman to serve or praise, or even have stuff thrown at from time to time, his only fulfillment came from drinking. Presently, he took a swig from his cup and gazed blearily at the fur rugs and deer heads mounted on the wall, remembering how only a few months ago that he had been here, partying drunk with the other men and telling Gaston how he was the greatest and nobody could ever measure up to him. That was what he lived for. Without Gaston, now what was he supposed to do?

"_Le Fou!"_

The lackey's bloodshot eyes snapped open. He had passed out from drinking…again. As he groggily rubbed his temple he had a feeling that he had just heard Gaston's voice. But that was impossible. Gaston was dead, wasn't he? Still, years of following orders from the great hunter made him turn around on instinct to see what the problem was. His mouth fell open.

His first thought was that he had been drinking too much. There was no way Gaston would be here in the tavern. Unless…maybe he was going delusional like Maurice. Given the state of things, he wouldn't be surprised. But then he saw the differences. His biceps weren't as big as Gaston's, he didn't have a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston and he was wearing a green hunting shirt, as suppose to the traditional red one that Gaston always wore. There was only one person in Le Fou's mind who matched this person, and that was…

"Avenant?"

"Surprised you, did I?" Avenant said with a grin, "It has been a while."

Le Fou was speechless. A while would be an understatement. His eyes followed him as he sat down in the stool next to him, his mind brimming with questions. "So tell me," Avenant said casually, as though he came to the tavern everyday, "Where's my brother?"

"G-Gaston?"

"Who else? I was just on my way to La Chapelle and thought I'd pay him a little visit. It's taken me a while but I think I'm ready to make up with him about _the incident_." As he spoke, he eyed the portrait of his brother on the tavern wall. _"I see he's used father's money well," _he thought bitterly_._ The real truth was, Avenant was broke from using his father's money on gambling, and was hoping to reconcile with his older brother so that he could get part of the tavern. Of course, he hated the fact that he actually had to _apologize _to his brother, but so long as he didn't have to scrounge for food anymore, he was willing to do anything his _frère_ asked of him.

Le Fou simply gaped at Avenant. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure how to react.

It had been at least three years since the village had last seen Avenant. He wasn't exactly the most memorable person in Molyneaux and it wasn't very hard to see why: He wasn't as handsome as Gaston was, or as strong as Gaston was and the kill he brought back to the village was in no way as big and impressive as the things his brother brought back.

The story of Avenant and Gaston's feud went back to some three years ago when their father Ludovic had passed away, leaving them in charge of the village tavern. Gaston, as the oldest son, was ready to take full ownership of the place, but Avenant, who was tired of living in his brother's shadow for fifteen years, decided to speak up and demand for his share the tavern too. Eventually, they decided to settle the dispute through a hunting match, the end of which Gaston had won, leaving Avenant to flee the village with his tail between his legs. Since then, no one had heard or seen Gaston's brother. For the most part, they assumed he went to another town. Gaston certainly didn't talk about him, and the other villagers knew better than to pry into what wasn't their business. Life went on, Gaston got his tavern, and his lesser brother soon became a thing of the past.

Until today that was. Now he was back. Back and asking for his brother who had died four weeks ago.

Le Fou could feel sweat dripping down his forehead._"Oh gosh, what am I going to tell him?" _he wondered, _"Gaston's out hunting? He went on a gaming trip?" _Thankfully, he was saved the trouble of making up a story by Monsieur D'Arque who was listening in on their conversation from further down the bar counter.

"He's _dead_ Avenant," he said simply.

Avenant looked as though he had just been punched in the face. His eyes darted from the asylum keeper to Le Fou, trying to find something to suggest they were joking, but there was nothing. Slowly, his fists began to ball up in rage.

"_WHAT?" _

It took several drinks before Avenant was on talking terms again. Even then, he was in an extremely bad mood, and Le Fou and the other townsmen sat around him as though he were a piece of dynamite about to go off at any moment.

"I want to know everything," he said as he slammed down his fifth mug of beer, "How he died, what killed him."

"Well that's the thing Avenant," Le Fou said tentatively, "We'd love to tell you, except we _don't know._ Some people from the castle only brought back his body a few weeks ago telling us that he fell into the bottom of a ravine."

"Well yeah, that's what _the castle_ said," Norbert said, rolling his eyes, "You ain't telling him the whole story, Le Fou," He slowly leaned forward and grinned at Avenant, "We think _the Beast_ must have got him."

"Beast?" Avenant repeated, "What Beast?"

Tom gave Norbert a sharp slap on the back, "Do you want to go to the asylum?" he hissed, "We've already had some of our best men taken to the Maison des Lunes, rambling on about being attacked by furniture and silverware in the castle and whatnot. We certainly don't need someone to bring up _that _crazy old man's story again."

"But it wasn't a story Tom!" Norbert insisted, "You saw what Belle showed us in the mirror. Even Gaston believed her."

"Yeah, and look where that got him," said Dick, "I think we were tricked, that's what I say. That crazy girl must have learned how to do witchcraft from all those books she was reading and decided to try it out on us."

"What are you talking about?" Avenant asked in frustration, "What does Belle have to do with any of this?"

Dick looked around at his companions and took a deep breath. He supposed there was only one way to get the full story about Gaston's death out and that would be to go back to the end of the summer, when Gaston had first made plans to woo and marry Belle. For the next fifteen minutes he quickly filled Avenant in on everything that had happened in the past sixth months: how Gaston had arranged for Maurice to be locked in an asylum until Belle agreed to marry him, how Le Fou was to stand watch until Belle and her father returned, how Belle had refused Gaston's proposal and even outsmarted him by proving the "Beast" was real through an enchanted mirror, and how Gaston, in an act of virtue had decided to lead all the village men up to the castle to kill the monster.

"The last we saw of him was when we entered the castle," Tom finished, "He went to find the Beast and we…got a little distracted."

"Attacked by living furniture is more likely!" said Norbert.

"Keep your voice down, Norbert, Monsieur d'Arque is right there!"

"And what's even funnier," Stanley added, "Is that Belle and Maurice haven't been seen since that night. The word is that they somehow managed to get back to the castle and now Belle is getting married to the prince."

"_Prince?"_ Avenant raised an eyebrow, "I thought we didn't have a prince."

"Neither did we," said Tom, "Until those heralds started coming in here, announcing _his_ _highness's return _from god-knows-where. Apparently, he's been off travelling the world for the past ten years. Who would've known, eh?"

"Well, on the good side I guess this means you'll be managing the tavern now, huh Avenant?" Le Fou said, "Avenant?"

Avenant said nothing. The whole story didn't make sense. A prince comes from out of nowhere, marries a peasant girl, and his brother gets himself killed, all in the same time frame?

The wheels Avenant's head were turning. He had two options now: he could claim the deed to the tavern, pay off his gambling debts and grieve for his brother with the rest of the village, or…he scratched his chin as he thought…he could do something drastic…something crazy…he could be the hero he never could be when Gaston was still alive…

"Le Fou," he said as he stood up abruptly from the table, "I want you to go and round up all the men in the village and tell them to meet me here in the tavern."

"Now?" Le Fou said in surprise, "But Avenant, it's the middle of the day! People have work and families and – !"

"Le Fou, did you hear what I said?"

The lackey gulped as he read the murderous expression on Gaston's brother's face, "Well yes Gaston – I mean, Avenant! I'll let them know right away!" he stammered. He scurried out of the tavern, feeling grateful that he at least had been given _something_ to do today.

In the meantime, Avenant clenched his fists and surveyed the remaining four men sitting before him with cold, stern eyes. Of one thing he was sure of, no one killed his big brother without paying the price. He didn't know how Gaston had died, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.


	8. Fiancé

Two weeks passed, and the workload for the castle staff only increased. With Belle and Adam now officially engaged, maids and servants could be seen bustling through the castle at all times of the day, decorating hallways, cleaning windows, sweeping floors, polishing door handles and bumping into each other in the hallways, all in preparation for the royal wedding which was to take place at the start of the month. Cogsworth, as head of household, was so busy overseeing the wedding plans that he had been forced to put the prince's tutoring on hold which was fine with Adam, because this meant he could spend less time studying and more time alone with Belle. Soon the two could happily say that they were back to their regular routine of taking long walks out in the grounds or sitting together in the library, reading storybooks.

Perhaps it had something to do with being human again, but Adam was finding it much easier to read than when he was a beast. Over the course of a week they had covered all the classics, including Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Descartes and John Locke and were currently moving on to Daniel Defoe's _Robinson Crusoe_ which happened to be one of Belle's favourite books.

What Adam loved more than knowing he was getting better at reading was seeing the smile on Belle's face as he read to her. Of course, she had smiled at him when he was the beast, but now that he knew the real meaning behind it; that she loved him, he couldn't help but feel an extra bit of contentment whenever they were together. It was a kind of happiness one could only experience from being in love, and Adam sincerely hoped that once they got married, he would be able to give Belle all the happiness she gave him, and more.

Belle enjoyed being in Adam's company because she could use this time to adjust to his human appearance. She could still see traces of the Beast in him, not only in his eyes, but in his smile, in his gestures and even his voice. After a while, she couldn't see the Beast anymore at all, only Adam; the man who had given up everything in one night just to let her be with her father. And now she was getting married to him! Of course people got married everyday, but now that it was happening to her, she could honestly say that it felt as though she were living in a fairytale. Except this wasn't just a fairytale. This was real life.

As the wedding day drew closer however, Belle found herself spending less time with Adam and more time in her room getting fitted for her bridal gown.

"I wish you'd consider that noblemen from all across the province are coming to this wedding," Monsieur Aiguille was saying to Madame Armoire on the day of her third fitting, "You could at least try and make her dress look _more authentic."_

"Oh posh," said Madame Armoire. It certainly hadn't been her idea to work with him on Belle's wedding garments, and if it weren't for the fact that the spell was broken she would happily shut him away in her wardrobe cabinet so she could work her dress in peace. "Belle is a special girl," she continued as she took a few more measurements of her skirt, "She and the master both deserve to wear something representative of them not just those awkward outfits those _aristocrats pretenieux_ wear back in Versailles."

"Jeanette, I do not mean to denote your dressmaking preferences," Aiguille said icily, "But we want to make a good impression for the aristocrats, don't we?"

"And what exactly is there not to like, _Armand_?"

"A great many things my dear Jeanette. Would you like me to name them all for you?"

Belle sighed. The wedding was almost two weeks away, and it seemed that Adam's tailor and her dressmaker were no closer to agreeing on a style for her wedding dress than Lumiere and Cogsworth were to settling on a main entrée for the wedding feast.

Trying to distract herself from their imminent argument (she learned that it was better to let them work out their differences than trying to stop them herself), she focused her eyes on the beautiful landscape of mountains and forests outside her window. Somewhere beyond those trees, past the farmers' fields and wealthy estates, was the quaint village she had once lived in: Molyneaux.

It was funny, up until this point Belle hadn't given much thought about the village she had lived in for six months. There was so many changes going on in the castle, it hadn't exactly crossed her mind the thought of returning. But now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't help wonder if she could go back, if just for a day. Sure, she may not have fit in there, but it had been her home once and...she didn't know, maybe she wanted to say a proper goodbye to it before starting her life as a princess. If anything, she could help her papa carry his tools and inventions back to the castle. That, and pay her respects to Gaston. Sure he was arrogant, but he certainly hadn't deserved to die because of it.

"_Yes, I should go back," _she thought as Madame Armoire turned her around to add some more pins to the back of her bodice. It was just a matter of checking with Adam to see if that would be all right.

* * *

"_Fils de pute!"_ Maurice shouted. He had been tightening some bolts on his latest invention when he accidentally dropped his wrench on his foot, causing him to cry out in pain.

"I heard that!" Adam grinned as he peered his head out from the frame he was working on opposite Maurice, "That three for you, two for me."

"Oh, that's no fair," the old man whined, "That really hurt this time!"

"Well if you would like to call it draw…"

"And surrender to my future son-in-law? Not a chance!"

For the past week while Belle was away at dress fittings, Adam had been spending his time down in the cellars, visiting Maurice in his workshop. It so happened that the prince knew a bit of carpentry from the times he had had to repair the castle as a beast, and now could use his skills to help Maurice put his latest inventions together. Today they were working on a pulley mechanism which would allow servants to send supplies up to the different parts of the castle without having to use the stairs all the time. It was a fun, if not painful project, and Adam was mostly into it for the quality time he got to spend with Maurice.

"So what's the story behind your name?" Maurice asked, continuing a conversation they had started earlier.

"My name?" Adam repeated.

"Well its not exactly French is it? More like Hebrew? Like Adam and Eve from the book of Genesis?"

Adam nodded. "I guess it all has to do with my family's long obsession with renaissance art. Cogsworth for example, told me that my great-grand-parents wanted the castle to be fashioned after an artist named Michel-Ange after they went to Italy and saw some of his artwork. Then when my parents married they also went to Italy and saw one of his paintings in the Chapelle Sixtine called _La Création d'Adam_. For some reason my mother had an epiphany that if I were a son, I should be named after him. That's what Cogsworth says anyway, but I have a feeling that there was another reason."

Maurice chuckled, "It's funny how you mention Michel-Ange. He was a bit of an inventor too you know. Not in the conventional sense...but he did design some incredible forms of architecture from what I recall."

"You've been to Italy before, monsieur?" Adam asked in surprise.

"Well no, but Belle got me a book on him once. Of course it was really Léonard de Vinci's work I was more interested in but I have a bit of appreciation for anyone who can make such wonderful crafts."

Adam nodded. He was about to hammer his next nail into the wood, only he forgot where his thumb was resting and was met with an unpleasant sensation as metal collided with flesh. His thumb immediately seared with pain.

"_Merde!"_

"Oho, that's a tie now," Maurice said, "Three for me, three for you."

Adam bit his thumb, eyes watering. "What time is it anyway? Do you think Belle's done with her fittings yet?"

"Why don't you go up and check? I can finish up from here. Maybe I should treat that thumb of yours first."

Leading him by the hand, which was quite awkward given the differences in their heights, Maurice took Adam to the far wall of the workshop where a piece of white linen and a bucket of cold water had been set aside. "Belle's idea," he explained as he got him to sit down, "She always worried that I'd hurt myself while she was out doing chores."

"Well she wasn't wrong," Adam said in amusement.

"_C'est vrai_," he nodded, "She's a smart girl, takes after her mother in that respect."

As the old man dipped the cloth into the water, a pensive expression fell on his face. "You know, Adam" he said as he began wrapping the damp cloth around his thumb, "I know you had your uncertainties about proposing to my daughter before, but let me just say I'm glad you found your confidence in the end. I know you make Belle very happy and I'm sure you two will have a wonderful future together."

Adam raised an eyebrow, "Well thank you sir," he said. It was a bit strange; they had never discussed the marriage until this point, not since the day he had come in to ask for Maurice's blessings. Given the conversations they had had in the past few days, it hadn't really seemed like the sort of thing they would talk about. Still, he listened carefully as he continued.

"Just remember what the priest told me on my wedding day: _'He that loves his wife loves himself.' _No matter how selfless Belle may be, remember in the end that _you_ are her husband. It is your responsibility to care for her, bring out the best in her, be with her every step of the way and most importantly, always go out in your way for your love for her. Do you think you can do that, Adam?"

Adam remembered the night he had let Belle return to her father. At the time, he could care less about being human for himself; he only wanted to be human for _her. _It had seemed like a far-fetched fantasy at the time…but now…now that he was human he could make it real. He felt a smile draw on his lips as he came to his answer.

"I think I can, monsieur."

Maurice smiled. "Then I'll let you be on your way." He was already finished with the bandaging.

* * *

"_I can't go in there,"_ Belle was reading to Chip as they sat together by the fireplacein the parlour,_ "I'm too big."_

"_You silly child," the witch said angrily. "The oven is quite big enough. Look, I could even get in myself!"_

_She bent down and put her head in the oven. Gretel gave her a hard push and she fell right inside. Shutting the iron door, Gretel bolted it."_

"Ha!" Chip said with a grin, "Take that you old witch!"

"_Knock, knock!"_ said Adam.

Chip and Belle looked up from the book to see the prince enter the room accompanied by Mrs. Potts and her tea trolley, "Oh hello mama, hello master!" Chip said brightly.

"Hello Chip," said Mrs. Potts, "I thought you were supposed to be downstairs helping your brothers and sisters in the kitchen?"

"Oops," Chip's face turned red, "I guess I forgot."

Adam sympathized. He remembered how things were when he was Chip's age; how he would rather scare unsuspecting servants and throw temper-tantrums than fulfill his responsibilities as the next heir to the throne.

"What is Belle reading to you, Chip?" he asked.

"_Hansel and Gretel_," Chip replied, "You should listen to it master, it's an awesome story!"

Adam shared a knowing expression with Belle. "I'd love to Chip," he said, "But right now, I need sometime to be alone with Belle. Do you think maybe you can listen to her read it later?"

"Well, I guess so," Chip frowned. But turning to Belle he added, "But you _promise _you'll finish it later, right?"

"Of course, Chip," Belle said as she ran her hand through his sandy-blonde hair, "In fact, if your mama says it's alright, I'll come by the kitchens later tonight and read the rest of it before bedtime."

"Oh boy!" The boy turned on his mother earnestly, "Mama, can we do that, please?"

"Of course dear," Mrs. Potts said as she set up the tea for Adam and Belle. "But you'll have to finish all your chores first. How about we get started on them now so we can give Belle and the master some privacy?"

"Okay," said Chip, "Bye Belle, bye master!"

_"Au revoir,_ Chip, Mrs. Potts."

Adam was still smiling to himself after the two servants had left the room. Taking his spot next to her on the rug, he kissed her lightly on the cheek. "They really like you, you know," he said, "Chip and the others."

Belle smiled and leaned her head against Adam's chest. "I like them too." she said softly. It was then that she noticed the white cloth wrapped around her fiancé's thumb, "What happened to your hand?" she asked.

"Oh," Adam blushed as he moved his arm off her shoulder, "Nothing I um…I just bruised it with a hammer."

Belle laughed, "I'm sorry," she said, "It just reminds me of something Papa would do. You're going to be alright though, right?"

"It's just a bruise, nothing serious. How about you, how were the dress alterations today?"

Belle made a face, "Well they are _better_…" she stressed the word, "now that Madame Armoire and Monsier Aiguille have settled on a style."

"You don't sound too happy."

She shook her head. "They've decided to make it again from _scratch_," she explained, "Which means even _more_ alterations for me! It looks like you'll be keeping Papa company for a while longer."

"I don't have much of a _choice_," Adam said as he leaned back his head, "It's either I stay with your father or be forced to pick out fabric colours for the wedding," He too made a face as he thought of the prospect.

"Well I just hope it will be worth the wait."

"Oh I'm sure it will be." He turned to her and stroked the side of her cheek, "It doesn't matter what kind of dress you end up wearing, you will always be beautiful to me_._"

Belle blushed at the compliment, "You sure I'll look good enough for you? You're pretty handsome too, you know."

He laughed, and she felt her face become ten times redder. "Belle, no matter what I look like, I'll always be the same, horrible, ugly Beast you fell in love with underneath. I can promise you that much."

"Oh, but you were never a Beast, Adam," she said, "It just took the _right person _to realize that."

She moved forward to kiss him, and Adam responded, wrapping his arms around her lovingly. Two weeks of intimacy had only strengthened their love for one another, and now they found that they not only longed for each other spiritually, but physically as well. When they were finished, Belle rested her head against Adam's shoulder and sighed. Everything was perfect. In a week she'd be married to her prince, and would be living happily ever after, just like in her fairytales. But there was still one lingering thought on her mind.

"Adam," she said to him slowly, "Since the wedding is a week away, I was thinking that..."

"Yes?" he asked.

"Well," she brushed a strand of hair away from her face, "It's just that…there are a few belongings from my house in the village I'd like to pick up and bring back to the castle."

Adam looked surprised. "Well why didn't you say so? I'll send some servants to get whatever it is you need, right away!"

"Well, actually," she chose her words carefully, "I was thinking of going back with Papa. Not to stay, just to…say goodbye."

For a moment, Adam wanted to say no. There were so many complications that could arise if she went back to the village, and with that hunter dead, how would she even know if she was still welcome there? Still, as he read the pleading look on her face, he realized that she really wasn't asking for a lot. He had been the one who had taken her away from the village; he supposed it was only natural that a part of her would want to return to it. _But does she have to go now? _An idea suddenly came to him.

"Well of course," he said, "In fact, it may be better if I come with you."

Belle's eyes immediately lit up. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he scratched the back of his head uneasily, "To, um, make the wedding ceremony official. I need to get used to making public speeches anyway. Now that I'm a…a prince."

Belle looked as though Adam had just told her she was getting a brand new library for Christmas. "Well thank you!" she exclaimed, "That's very considerate of you! I'll go tell Papa!"

With that she placed a kiss on his cheek and stood up to leave. Adam couldn't help but wish he had just changed the subject when he had the chance. He was pretty sure ten years hadn't changed the fact that he _hated_ going to villages.


	9. Molyneaux

The next morning, Adam had a carriage and two wagons hitched up for Belle and Maurice's return to the village. Under Cogsworth's suggestion a party of guards and servants were brought to accompany the three of them and once they had eaten, they all gathered up their things and headed out of the castle towards Molyneaux.

Adam tried his best to look like he was enjoying himself as Belle and Maurice pointed out the trails leading to all the other towns they had once lived in, but in truth, the sight of the countryside, deprived of trees or any other form of foliage made him feel a bit…vulnerable. He supposed being a Beast for ten years had affected him in more ways than he thought.

"Are you all right, Adam?" Belle asked. She noticed he'd been pretty quiet since they'd left the castle, and wondered if something was bothering him.

"What?" he turned his head away from the carriage window. "Oh yes, I'm fine, just fine thanks."

Belle smiled. "This must be a big change for you," she said, "Your first time leaving the castle grounds in over ten years."

Adam nodded. There was no point in keeping that truth from her. "I knew it was going to happen sooner or later," he confessed, "It's just…,"

"…it's different."

"Yes," he sighed. "_Very _different. Even before the enchantress came, Lumiere and Cogsworth were always there to chaperon me when we visited the other villages. I was such a _môme _back then; I would always leave them to deal with everything. But now that I'm a prince again, it's like I'm doing everything by myself for the first time. I'm just...I'm worried that I'll do something wrong."

Belle sympathized. She knew that her fiancé had been under a lot of pressure lately, and wanted to do whatever she could to help him out in this crucial time. "Adam," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder, "It's normal to feel a bit nervous when you've never done something before. But personally, I think you're being very brave by coming here today. It shows you have dedication…and I know for a fact that your speech today will be wonderful."

"Do you really think so?"

"I _know_ so. Besides, if you could win one girl's heart in less than half a year as a Beast, winning the affections of a village as a prince should be a piece of cake."

The prince laughed at that. He had to admit, she had a bit of a point. But as much as he appreciated her cheering him up, it didn't completely draw his anxiety away the task at hand.

"_Relax, Adam,"_ he told himself, "_All you have to do is help them pack, say a few words to the villagers and then be off. You'll never have to go back to that village again."_

It wasn't a very hard thing to do, but why couldn't he shake off the feeling that something _bad _was going to happen once they got there?

* * *

It was noon by the time the carriages arrived in Molyneaux. Belle woke up her father, who had fallen asleep beside her, and pointed out to the carriage window where the little village was just coming into view.

"There it is Papa! Just as we left it."

As she gazed out at the town with its tiny houses and shops she couldn't help feeling a bit sad. She remembered around this time of day she'd be walking amongst throng; book in one hand, basket in another…running errands for her Papa while dreaming of a better world, a better life. It had all seemed so mundane back then, but since coming to the castle, her life in the village had come to mean so much more. She had no regrets about leaving the town behind of course, but that didn't mean she was going to miss living it in someways.

"_I guess to move forward we all have to leave behind a few things," _she concluded. Looking at Adam, she knew he had had to go through his own share of changes to be with her too. This was a normal transition, for both of them.

The prince could actually smell the village before he saw it; an unpleasant mixture of mud, manure and fish. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and remembered how he used to ride past these kinds of peasant towns with Cogsworth and Lumiere before the enchantress had come to the castle.

"_Filthy Creatures!" the nine-year-old Prince Adam said as he rode through Sille-le-Guillaume with his maitre d' and majordomo. "I don't see why I have to come close enough to smell them!"_

"_They are your people, my prince," said Lumiere. "They look up to you."_

"_You must set them an example!" Cogsworth quickly added. _

That's right Adam, "you must set them an example," how much of an example could he set when he'd been a Beast for ten years?

By the time they arrived at Belle's house, a crowd of townspeople were standing outside the fence, anxious to see who the strange visitors in the carriage were. Adam was glad he had taken Cogsworth's advice to bring some of the guards with him, because he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to handle so many villagers if they all decided to swarm in at once.

"Who's that?"  
"I wanna see!"  
"What are they doing here?"

"There is nothing to see here, good people," said the guard, "Please return to your business"

"Nothing to see? But there's a carriage outside the inventor's house!"  
"Yeah, and who are all those people with 'em?"

As the villagers continued to beleaguer the guards, Le Fou squeezed himself between a pair of legs at the front of the crowd, giving him just enough clearance to see the front of the inventor's house. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Belle, walking up to the front steps with Maurice and a red-haired man he did not recognize._ So_ _they're really back then! _Delighted, he turned around and went to find Avenant.

* * *

While Adam had his dislikes about the village, he found they did not carry into the Dupont's house. Yes it was musty, but it was also much larger and cleaner than he imagined it to be. For a moment he stood in the foyer, trying to imagine Belle living here, reading books, doing chores and cooking dinner for her father. It seemed like a pretty boring life, but then, it wasn't like his life as a Beast had been much better. On his left were some stairs leading to what he assumed were the bedchambers, and on the right was a small fireplace and a bookshelf. _Belle's bookshelf,_ he thought with a smile. Presently, she was emptying books from the shelf to bring back to the castle. He moved forward to help, but she rebuffed him.

"Oh, I'll be fine with these Adam," she told him, "Why don't you help my Papa upstairs?"

Adam cocked his head to the side. "Okay," he said. He thought she was acting a bit strange, but then, maybe she wanted some time alone with her books. This was a bit of a good bye moment for her after all.

Adam found Maurice in the first bedchamber next to the stair landing. His feet were sticking out from underneath the bed, as though he were looking for something under there.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"Ow!" Maurice bumped his head against the frame as he moved himself out from under the bed. "Ah yes, Adam do you think you could go through those drawers for me? I'm trying to see if I have any more spare cogs lying around the house. They might come in handy for the pulley we've been working on."

"Of course, monsieur." Adam moved to the dresser, where he noticed a small oval portrait nailed to the wall behind it. The woman in it looked remarkably like Belle, save for the red dress and white bonnet she was wearing.

"Is that…Belle's mother?" he asked Maurice as he moved out from underneath the bed.

Maurice looked over at the portrait and smiled. "Ah yes, that would be my Georgine," he said fondly. "She was quite the beauty in the town we used to live in. Everyone thought that she'd go on to marry someone rich or handsome...instead, she chose to settle down with the most eccentric man in the village," he chuckled. "I guess she saw something in me that the other townsmen just didn't have. And well...I was completely crazy about her."

"How did she," Adam hesitated to say the word, "…die?"

"Childbirth," Maurice replied. "We were having our second child at the time. Belle was only seven."

"I'm very sorry."

"Ah, there's no need for that. It was a long time ago, and she's in a better place now. Although…," he paused. "Sometimes I regret not being close to Belle during that time. I coped through my inventing and she, well, she may not have completely understood what had happened, but she coped through her reading I guess. It was one of the things her mother taught her to do before she died. And as you can see, it's become very much a part of her now."

Adam nodded. He could almost picture it: a young Belle reading alone in the house while Maurice worked in the cellar on his latest inventions. It seemed like the sort of thing she'd do, just peacefully going along with things and finding other ways to cope with her mother's death, unlike him and his tendency to lash out at everyone and everything when things didn't go his way. _But wait a minute. Belle didn't go quietly when she saw you were dying. She cried for you._

Maybe after all that time she spent reading alone in the house, Belle was really just waiting for something to happen, something to break her free of that mould she'd placed herself in after her mother's death._ She needed someone like me._

"Monsieur, I know for a fact that Belle loves you very much," Adam consoled. "She was thinking about you the night before the spell broke. That's why…why…,"

"…why you let her go?"

He nodded.

"But…," Maurice hesitated, "You knew she was going to come back, right?"

Adam bent his head over the drawer, his expression forlorn. "No," he replied. "I didn't expect she'd want to, after what I did to her. I was ready to let her go, and didn't care what the consequences for me would be. Because…in the end...I wanted her to be happy."

He wished he could say more, but Maurice already seemed to have understood. "You're a good man, Adam," he said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Truth be told, there are not many people in the world who would have made the same sacrifice you made for my daughter that night. I know Georgine, if she were alive, would have been very pleased with you."

"I was just doing what was right," Adam confessed._ Or rather, what I should have done ten years ago when the enchantress first came to the castle._ He just hoped he wouldn't forget that. Maurice, if anyone seemed to have faith that he wouldn't.

* * *

While Maurice and Adam continued to search the second floor for cogs and other spare parts they could take back to the castle, Belle was busy taking boxes of her old books outside to give to the servants to load in the wagon. As she passed a third box of books on to the servant boy, her eyes fell on the small animal compound next to the house. The winter it seemed, had not been kind to it. Some of the beams had broken and there were shingles missing from the roof. She wondered what had happened to the goats they used to keep in there. Maybe some of the townspeople had taken them in when they were away, or maybe the wolves had found them and eaten them. She hoped for the sake of the goats that it was the former scenario and not the latter.

As she entered the empty pen her foot collided with something hard lying on the ground. It was the bucket she had used to feed the chickens with. Slowly, she bent down and picked it up. "_This is really where it all began_," she thought wistfully. Where she had stood just minutes before Phillipe had arrived out in the fields to take her to the castle. Who knew how one little misadventure could end up changing their whole lives around?

"Must be nice living in a castle with a prince," a voice interrupted.

_CRASH!_ In an instant, the bucket fell to the ground. Belle spun around to see a burly man move out of the shadows towards her. Her heart stopped. It couldn't be..._Gaston?_ But no, as he moved forward she could see he wasn't as big as Gaston had been, and his face, while similar in appearance, looked slightly distorted, like someone had tried to draw a picture of Gaston but only managed to make a crude likeness instead.

She knew of course, who this man was. She used to see him with Gaston when she and Papa had first moved to the village. But then he had disappeared for a few years and now…

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," Avenant said coolly. He took a few steps toward her, and Belle began to shuffle backwards at the same time. She didn't know why, but there was something about his expression that she found a bit…unsettling.

"Oh no," she said as she tried to find her voice. "It's good to see you again Avenant! Listen, I'm really sorry about your brother."

"Oh me too Belle, me too," he grinned. "You know, I really do think it's a pity he died so _young_. Le Fou was just telling me he had so much potential, what with being the town hero, top of his game, hunting down _beasts_ left and right," he fixed Belle in a hard stare, "And about to marry _the most beautiful_ girl in town."

Belle let out a gasp. Her right hand immediately went to her engagement ring. "_He knows!" _she thought in alarm. _"Dieu, this is bad, really bad."_

"Listen Avenant…" she said slowly. The important thing was not to panic. He hadn't said what his intentions were yet, and maybe she was just imagining the emphasis he had put on 'beasts' and 'marry.' His brother had just died after all, what right did she have to judge him? Still, something in her gut was telling her to be careful. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh don't worry Belle, I don't bite," Avenant smiled. "I just saw that you and your father were in town and thought I'd come by to ask you a few questions. You see, the word is that you were at the castle the night my brother died. You wouldn't happen to know what happened that night, would – ?"

"Mademoiselle Belle?" a guard interrupted. "Is this man bothering you?" He pointed his sword out at the intruder, causing him to take a few steps back. Belle sighed with relief. She was safe, for now.

"Oh please, there's no need for that," she told the guard. "He only wanted to talk." She turned back to Avenant and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry Avenant, but you're really not supposed to be here right now. Maybe we can discuss this later. Good bye."

* * *

"_Merde," _Avenant thought as the guard escorted him away from the house. _"I almost had her! I only needed a few more minutes alone with her and then I would have…"_ He spat on the ground angrily. It was just like losing another bet, that's what it was like. But at least he knew one thing: _"She's definitely hiding something. Something about my brother's death she doesn't want to share with the rest of us." _And based on the information he'd gathered from the other villagers, he was pretty sure he knew what it was…

"_Voilà monsieur,"_ the guard said as he dropped Avenant back on to the main path. "Since you clearly have nothing better to do with your time, perhaps you would like to wait in the town square for Prince Adam to make his speech."

"Prince Adam is _here?"_ Avenant said in disbelief. So that was what the fancy carriage and guards were about! He turned back to the house. Through one of the windows he could just get a glimpse of Belle conversing with a tall, red-haired man dressed in a blue overcoat. _"That must be him,"_ he thought with a smile. Well he would get his audience with _his majesty _soon enough. Today it seemed, could only get better.


	10. Discours Interrompu

After two hours, Belle and Maurice had all their essentials packed away in the wagons and were ready to move on to Adam's speech in the town square. Belle considered telling Adam and Papa about her encounter with Avenant, but after a while, decided against it. He was probably curious, that was all. And Gaston had always made her feel uncomfortable whenever he was around, so it was only natural that her feelings would transmit over to his younger brother. Instead of worrying about him, she focused her energies on her fiancé, who was spending the last minutes of packing out in the yard, pacing and muttering words to himself in preparation for his first ever speech. It was obvious that he was nervous, and Belle, who could feel his anxiety from watching from him from the porch, walked over and fixed him in a tight embrace.

"You'll do fine Adam," she whispered. "I just know it."

Adam sighed. "I hope you're right." Even though he'd memorized everything the best he could, there was no guaranteeing that he still would mess up in some spectacular fashion.

"And just think," Belle continued, "After this we'll go back to the castle and I can read you all of the storybooks I left back at the house. There are even ones I found that my mother used to read to me when I was small. I'd love to share them with you."

"I'd love to hear them," Adam replied. For a moment he was comforted by the image of him and Belle sitting back in the castle library, reading books together. It was perfectly normal for him to be nervous, right? Maybe he'd be standing up there like some kind of idiot, but at least he could say he'd done his job, at least he could say he _tried _to be a real prince, if only for once. Taking her hand, he followed Belle back to the front of the house where the guards stood waiting to escort them all out to the town square.

"Make way for his highness!" the head guard shouted about ten minutes later. There was a bit of a ripple effect as the villagers parted the way for the guards, exchanging curious expressions with their peers as the prince and his party made their way past them.

"Is that Belle?"  
"I can't even recognize her!"  
"Look at that dress!"  
"Is that a princess, maman?"

Belle quickly blushed and turned her head to the side. She knew that she and her papa had always been a conversation piece for the people in the village, but it was quite a different experience now that she actually _knew _what they were talking about. She'd just have to get used to this attention once she became a princess, wouldn't she? Looking to her right, she saw something disturbing; the blonde triplets were standing near the front of the crowd, batting their eyelids at the prince flirtatiously. She immediately strode forward and grabbed her fiancé by his shoulder. The girls could swoon as much as they wanted over Gaston, but her Prince was off limits!

Adam had to admit, he found it a bit weird to see so human faces again. He didn't feel like a prince, more like a stranger trapped in a prince's body as he got up on the podium and surveyed "his" people, half of which were looking upon him in interest, others in scepticism. It shamed him to think that when he was younger he used to think of peasants as animals, hardly worthy to even kiss the floor he walked upon. He was determined not to make that same unfeeling judgement about them this time around.

After sharing reassuring glances with Belle and Maurice, who were standing behind the podium, Adam cleared his throat and began.

"Good day _mesdames_ and _messieurs._ I would just like to thank you all for coming out here today. It is a pleasure to be in your wonderful town of Molyneaux. I am Prince Adam Eugène Michel César Emmanuel d'Évrard son of former King Vincent and Queen Catherine and I am here to confirm that the news you have been hearing these past weeks from is true, and that I have indeed returned to reclaim my responsibilities as prince after my ten year long absence."

He paused. He thought he saw a tall, muscular man moving somewhere near the back of the crowd, but he disappeared before he could take a better look at him. He shrugged. It probably wasn't anything important anyway.

"And as one of my first acts as prince," he continued as he held out his arm for Belle to take, "Is to marry Belle Dupont, whom you all knew to once live in this village with you. As of next week, she will be crowned Princess of Touraine and will be leaving Molyneaux to come and live with me in my castle. A wedding has been organized and _we,_" he turned to Belle as though to verify, "In light of this wonderful occasion have agreed to cordially invite all of you all to the ceremony, as guests of the bride and of her father, Maurice."

"Prince Adam?" a voice suddenly interrupted. Adam's eyes turned from his fiancée to a boy who couldn't be much older than Chip, gaping up at him from the crowd. "What happened to Monsieur Gaston? Why did he die?"

"Luc!" the woman behind the boy snapped, grabbing him by the shoulders. She looked up at the prince nervously. "Forgive him your majesty – he does not know what he is saying. Luc, how many times must I tell you, it is rude to interrupt people when they are talking? Especially _the prince_!"

"But maman, _everyone_ keeps talking about Gaston," the boy named Luc argued, "Even you and papa say things about him. Why can't Prince Adam just tell us so people will stop wondering what happened to him?"

"The kid's gotta point your majesty," a short man with dark hair and a bulbous nose added from beside them, "What _did_ happen to Gaston? Seeing as he was at _your _castle the night he died?"

"I'd like to know too," another man added.

"It would put my mind at ease at least," another agreed.

"Well –," Adam's face turned a dull shade of red. He certainly wasn't expecting _this _kind of reaction from the villagers. How much could he tell them without giving away the truth, that he was the Beast Gaston had tried to kill that night? "_Mesdames et messieurs_, I can assure you that Gaston Légume's death was an _accident_," he managed. "We were on the edge of a balcony; he stabbed me, lost his footing and fell."

"_C'est des conneries!"_ a new voice shouted in the distance. The prince looked up to see something a little unexpected: a gruff looking man was glaring at him from up on the rooftops outside the town square. "I know the truth," he sneered at him, "_You_ killed him!"

Belle gasped. "Avenant?" she said in disbelief.

"Who?" asked Adam.

"Gaston's younger brother," she explained.

"You mean there are _two _of them?" In all their talks about life at the village, Belle had failed to mention that Gaston had a _brother. _

"_Bien sûr,"_ Avenant said with a grin. "And ladies and gentleman, this _prince _is not who he seems to be. You see, this whole _rumour_ you've all been hearing about the 'Beast' is really just a story he made to cover up for the murder of my brother. The truth is, he lusted for Belle and killed Gaston so that he could claim her as his own. He is a deceiver, murderer and a thief and is not worthy to be called a prince."

A hush rose across the crowd. Adam began to grit his teeth. _A_ _deceiver? A murderer? A thief?_ He only had heard a few sentencess from this man's mouth and knew that he was completely out of order. "And what evidence do you have to support this ridiculous story?" he demanded.

"Why don't you just ask your pretty wife, your majesty?" Avenant chided. He had to admit, it felt good to be the center of attention for a change. Much better than being Gaston's underdog anyway. "After all she and Maurice were the ones who set my brother up to find this imaginary 'Beast' so that you could lure him into your castle and _kill _him."

"But that's not true!" Belle insisted, "The prince never killed anyone! I never wanted Gaston or anyone else to go to the castle."

"Oh, but _of course_ you didn't," he winked. "A pretty girl like you, how could you have known you would be taking part in such a _diabolical scheme?_ Surely if you are as innocent as you say you would have at least paid your respects at my brother's funeral? Or were you _too busy? _Maybe the prince here simply had something_ better to offer you."_

Adam immediately stepped forward. "You leave Belle out of this," he warned him.

"Oh, _pardonnez-moi,_ your grace," Avenant said. "But I'm afraid we're just getting started."

He turned to the side, and Belle noticed for the first time that there was large group of men standing beside the house, all bearing the same threatening expressions as their leader._ "Messieurs," _the hunter said, "Are we going to bow down to this _beast_, this murderer who killed our town hero for one woman, and continues call himself a prince?"

"Absolutely not, Avenant!" the men replied.

Adam felt his grip tighten around the podium stand. This was not a good sign. In all their tutoring sessions together, Cogsworth hadn't exactly told him how he was supposed to deal with an angry mob of villagers, especially ones that seemed to think that he had killed their town hero in cold blood. "I'm warning you, monsieur," he said tensely. "I don't know what you have told these people, but if you do not stop whatever you are planning right this instant, I will be forced to take _drastic measures._"

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Avenant moaned sarcastically. His face filled with determination. "Gaston was my only brother! And the best hunter this goddamn town had ever seen! Why should we even be listening to you? You've been gone for ten years!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" He was shouting now, he couldn't help it. Unfortunately for him, provocation was exactly the sort of thing Avenant was looking for.

"Oh, am I making you angry now, Prince Adam?" he said patronizingly, "How _inconsiderate_ of me. You must already be pretty frustrated, knowing your only way of producing an heir now is to marry _une salope _like her."

_BAM!_ Adam didn't know what happened next, but he couldn't stop it. Avenant could insult him as much as he wanted, but once he started calling _his _Belle a whore, that was when he drew the line. "GUARDS, ARREST HIM!" he shouted. It was just the cue that Avenant was waiting for.

"Get 'em boys!" he shouted.

The next few seconds turned into chaos. Villagers found themselves screaming and leaping backwards as the castle guards ran forward to stop the onslaught of rioters come to seize the prince and his fiancée. Adam realized a second too late what a stupid mistake he had made. While his guards were stronger than the townsmen, he had only brought a dozen with him, certainly not enough to stop all of the attackers, or get close to Avenant for that matter. Even worse, some of the faster men were making their way up to the podium to where he and Belle stood, completely defenseless.

"We have to get out of here," he said. Belle nodded. She just couldn't believe it...what would possess Avenant to make up such a twisted story about his brother's death? And how could he want revenge on Adam so badly when he had done nothing wrong? She moved to grab her fiancé's shoulder, but then she heard another voice calling her name.

"Belle!"

"Papa?" She spun around and gasped. Two of the men had already reached the side of the podium and were holding her poor father hostage. "No!" she shouted. Without thinking, she let go of Adam and ran towards him.

"Belle, get back here!" Adam warned.

"What's the matter, pretty boy?" a voice said from behind him. "Afraid of getting your hands dirty?"

Adam spun around. Two burly men with yellow teeth and greasy hair were slowly coming towards him, causing him to take a few nervous steps backwards. _"Merde," _he thought. As a Beast he would have been able to maul over a couple of men like this no problem, but as a human... "Please, messieurs," he said tentatively."Don't make me hurt you."

"Ha!" the first man laughed. "You think we're scared of you? You're no Beast. We know what you did to Gaston and you're gonna pay!" With that, he reached out to grab him. Adam, through agility he could have known from being a beast for so long, managed dodge his attack just in time. The second man pulled Adam toward him by his jacket, but he quickly countered his blow, breaking his grip with his free elbow and pushing him away with his knees. The first man moved to grapple him from behind, and Adam pulled him up with his arms and used his shoulder as a fulcrum to flip him on to the ground. He couldn't believe it...couldn't believe that this was happening.

"Adam!" Belle cried desperately.

"Belle?" Adam turned around to see that in the confusion, the men had managed to seize both her and Maurice and were dragging them to the far side of the podium. He moved forward to stop them, and his two attackers used the moment he was distracted to jump forward and tackle him to the ground. He heard something crack from underneath him as he was slammed, painfully against the floorboards and then pulled up again as they grabbed hold of both his wrists, this time, so he couldn't escape. And as he did, he felt the exact depth of his situation set in. How could he have been so stupid? He should have never let Belle and Maurice go back to the village, knowing this sort of danger waited for them. Now Avenant could do what he wanted with the three of them and it was all his fault.

"Well done gentlemen," a voice said appraisingly. Adam looked up to see the damn hunter himself, standing a few feet away from the podium, looking over at him as though he were an impressive prey he had just managed to capture on a gaming trip. "He picks a fair fight - for a moment I almost thought he was going to beat me!"

"You," Adam said, "You'll pay for this you – !" His threat was rewarded with a kick to his stomach. He fell to his knees, retching in pain.

"Now now, Prince Adam," Avenant said with a smile. The prince obviously had a bit of a temper, just one other reason why it was up to him and the other townsmen to put him in line. "A lesson must be learned here. You see, you can steal as many wenches as you want from my brother, but killing him? I simply cannot accept that. _Now I'm just about to cause you the pain that you caused me._"

And in a second, the shiny glint of a rifle appeared in the hunter's hands. Adam felt something cold run through his body as he realized what he intended to do with it, something much worse than shooting a bunch of insults at him or capturing him and kicking him in the stomach...

"NO!" he shouted.

In an instant he was on his feet, stomping on both of his captives' feet, hard. They grunted out pain and released him. It would be suicide for him to run at Avenant from this angle, but if he tried to save the one he planned to shoot at...

In the next few seconds Adam was pushing and clawing his way across the podium, barely registering the shouts, the warnings from the onlooking guards, he just had to get her, get her away from them, from _him_. And as he did, Avenant took aim.

He had only just managed to reach her when the sound of the first gunshot filled the air.


	11. La Vérité

"_I failed. I failed."_

He wasn't sure how long he lay on top her body. He was too aggrieved; wishing time would stop, wishing that he would never have to open his eyes again so wouldn't have to see the damage, the sight of her blood, her brown eyes staring lifelessly up at his.

He knew that the moment he heard the gunshot that he'd been too late. _Dieu, _it wasn't fair. He'd saved her from wolves, he'd saved her from drowning, but when he needed her most, the moment when he was about to commit his life to her forever, to repay her for everything she had given up for him, _he lost her_. He felt his body tremble as he gripped the fabric that made up her dress, trying his hardest to hold back the cries of anguish that were about to escape from him. _Belle. _She had meant the world to him. How could he let this happen? How could he let her get hurt like this? _We should have never come here. It should have been me instead of her. _

From around him he could hear voices muttering. Startled, anxious. If only he could drown them out, disappear even. In his mind he began to do exactly that; creating a world for himself where he was the Beast, standing in the confines of the West Wing, away from reality, away from everything. He knew before he'd even finished it that it wasn't going to work. That part of his life was gone, finished. He was a human now, not an animal. What was the point of trying to wish himself away to another place when he'd only feel more hurt about it after? It was like finishing a good story, only to wish you hadn't read it after because it made your own life so dull and meaningless in comparison. It was painful, and it was unecessary. Besides, it was only a matter of time before one of them would pull him off, discover her body underneath and then he wouldn't be able to play dead anymore. Better to just accept reality than escape it, and knowing this, he held her closer as though his life depended on it. It was the last piece of her he had left...he would hold on to her until the end of time if he had to.

The voices grew more intense, more frantic. A part of him was annoyed, surely it didn't take that long for them to move a couple of bodies off of the podium. Unless they were afraid to touch him, now that was an interesting thought. He was beginning to wonder if he should just roll off Belle himself, when he heard a strange scuffling noise followed by a grunt and a shout. Then, quite abruptly, a louder voice cut out over the noise:

"Unhand me you idiots, unhand me at once!"

He couldn't take it anymore. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. Blinking back the sunlight, he could see that there was a wild goose lying with its wings outstretched on the edge of the podium. He was confused…that certainly hadn't been there before. His eyes moved from the goose to the edge of the town square where he saw what had caught the villagers' attention: Avenant had been captured, cursing loudly as he was restrained by two of the castle guards. A third guard had taken hold of his rifle and was pointing it at him in case he tried to escape. _Well it seems they aren't completely useless. _

But what about the goose? Turning back to it, Adam could see that there was a bullet wound embedded in its breast. But that didn't make sense. He'd only heard one gunshot go off for Belle. Unless someone else had shot for the bird at the same time that could only mean…

"Adam," a voice said from underneath him, "You're crushing me."

"Belle!" Adam exclaimed in disbelief. He quickly got off of her so she could breathe. "You're…you're alright."

"Of course I am," Belle said as she sat up from the floor, "Are you?"

"Yes," Adam replied. He trembled as he put his arms on her, hardly believing his eyes. He didn't know how she'd survived, but she had, and armed with this knowledge, he pulled her forward and he kissed her. He didn't care who was watching, he needed this, he needed to know the worst hadn't happened, to feel the warmth of her body against his, to know that he wasn't imagining things, that she really was alive and wasn't going to leave him. And Belle was only glad that Adam was alright. Losing her life was one thing, but she couldn't bear to think about what would happen if she'd lost him to one of the Légume brothers, again.

"Your highness?" a voice interrupted, bringing them back to reality. Adam looked up to see one of the townsmen who had attacked him earlier looking at him him in fright, as though he was about to be sent to the guillotine at any moment. "Please have mercy! We didn't know Avenant was going to shoot at her! We thought we was going to teach you a bit of a lesson, that's all!"

Adam's expression hardened. After all the shit they'd put him through, did he honestly think he was going to let them get away that easily? "Arrest them all." he ordered.

"Yes, master." The guards moved forward to arrest the rioters, and surprisingly, none tried to resist. Maybe they were too shocked, maybe they were too afraid to mess with the prince now that they'd seen how angry he could get, Adam didn't know and quite frankly he didn't care. Slowly, he stood up and helped Belle to her feet. They were leaving, no question about it. He wouldn't be at peace until Avenant was locked away in the dungeons, and Belle and Maurice were back in the safety of the castle. _But what about the other villagers? _He felt his anger ebb away slightly as he realized he hadn't finished his speech yet. But what could he say to them all after what they'd witnessed?

It was amazing how many of the townspeople were still standing in the square despite the fight that had just taken place. Many of them were looking up at the prince with expressions of fear and concern on their face. The little boy who had spoken out earlier – Luc was now clinging to his mother and sobbing. Adam couldn't help feel a bit sorry for him. It wasn't like he had been the reason the men had charged at him and Belle. He was just curious to know how Gaston died, like the rest of his village. And maybe in some ways they did have a right to know the truth. It wasn't exactly a story he planned to share with them, but if it was what he needed to earn their respects, maybe, just maybe it was worth coming clean about.

"Wait here," he said to Belle. Slowly, he slumped back to the podium stand. "You need to understand," he said as he addressed the curious crowd, "The Beast was real. I was him."

Several gasped elicited throughout the square. Ignoring them, he continued:

"Ten years ago, on Christmas Eve, an enchantress came my to my castle and put a spell on my household that turned me into a Beast and my servants into enchanted objects. She gave me a magic rose as a timepiece, and told me that the spell would be permanent unless I could find someone to love me before the last petal fell.

In shame for what I had become, I hid myself away in the castle and forbid any of my servants from leaving the grounds. I cut off all communications with the other kingdoms and led them to believe that the castle had been abandoned and my fate left to the unknown.

If not for Maurice getting lost in the woods I may have never had a chance to be human again. He came upon my castle looking for shelter from a storm and I…I intended to keep him as my prisoner, but Belle found him and agreed to take his place. Through the course of the winter, she became a friend to me and helped me see the world in ways I'd never seen it before. I fell in love with her, and in time, she learned to love me back.

The night before the last petal of the rose was meant to fall I let Belle return to her father. That same night, Gaston and his men came to seek me out at the castle. I did not know anything about Gaston; I didn't know that he and Belle were from the same village or that he intended to take her as his wife. He led me out on to the rooftop, stabbed me, and would have killed me if Belle hadn't confessed her love and turned me back into a human.

Unfortunately for Gaston…" he hesitated for a moment, "...could not be saved. After he stabbed me he lost his footing and fell into the ravine. He was both violent and corrupt, and I can assure you that either Belle or myself could stop him from meeting his fate.

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure he meant a lot to all of you."

A tense silence fell over the square as Adam finished his story. The townspeople were speechless. Avenant's story was one thing, but Prince Adam's sounded positively mad, like the attackers had hit him back on the podium harder than he thought. Did he really expect them to believe that an enchantress had just waltzed into his castle one night and turned him into a Beast? That was positively ridiculous, it was practically a fantasy! And the great Gaston dying by his own hand? Proposterous! He had to be bluffing, just trying to cover up Avenant's story with one he knew they wouldn't believe.

But still, the facts remained. Those who had been in the tavern that night remembered how terrified Maurice had looked when he'd come in rambling about the Beast who had locked his daughter away in a castle. They'd all thought he was crazy, but then again, wasn't it a bit strange that no one, not even the baker or the bookshop keeper had seen Belle since the first snowfall? Could it had been that Maurice was right, and she had in fact been trapped in a Beast's castle for the whole winter?

The query went on. Even some of the people who thought Gaston should have had Belle for his wife had to admit that he hadn't quite been himself that night. They all knew Gaston was a man who liked to get what he wanted, but wasn't threatening Belle into a marriage a bit over the top, even for his standards? And the livid look in his eyes when he'd rounded up the townsmen to come to the castle...he's looked more like a monster that night than anything. Could that really mean that he had been responsible for his own death that night? And if so, did that mean that Belle and the prince were innocent?

Of one thing the townspeople were all certain about, there was nothing evil about the young man who stood before them. The fact that he had put his life at risk to save Belle had to mean he cared about her. And Belle…they'd always known that she was different from the rest of them. If she was meant to fall in love with a Beast and turn him back into a human…well they guessed she was so odd, it would only make sense.

"_Vive le prince,"_ a voice spoke out. He was an elderly man with white hair and spectacles and Belle immediately recognized him as the bookshop keeper who had given her a free book at his store almost a lifetime ago.

"_Vive le prince!"_ another voice shouted.

"_Vive le prince!"_ said another.

One by one, the townspeople were slowly adding on to the cheers. Adam looked on them in amazement. He couldn't believe it…they actually believed him.

"Th – thank you," he managed, lifting his head for silence. He hadn't realized until now that he felt quite dizzy. The world took on a pleasantly fuzzy quality as he staggered away from the stand. The last thing he heard was a cry from the crowd before he fell forward and then everything went black.

* * *

When Adam came around again he was lying on a bed back at Belle's cottage. Belle was dabbing at his face with a wet cloth, looking at him in concern. Two of the guards were standing watch from behind.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Swell," he replied gruffly, "What happened?"

"You fainted after your speech."

"I fainted," Adam repeated in disbelief, "See, I told you something would go wrong."

"_Tais toi!_" Belle replied, resting a hand on his chest, "That was a very brave speech you made and everyone knows it. There's not a person in Molyneaux who doesn't want to come to the wedding now."

_The wedding. _Adam's smile lowered slightly. "Belle, where's your father?" he asked.

"He's downstairs. The doctor is looking after him."

"Is he –?"

"He's fine, he's just a bit winded," she explained, "The doctor's going to give him a bit of medicine before we head back." She averted her eyes from him as she spoke, and Adam could tell that she was a bit worried.

"You should go to him," he told her.

"Will you be okay?"

"Belle, you and I both know that I've experienced worse injuries than this. I'll be fine. But thank you...for taking care of me."

He took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Belle found herself smiling back. "Don't try to get up too fast," she warned.

"I won't."

She kissed him on the forehead and left the room, leaving Adam alone with the castle guards. They walked up to him and introduced themselves, telling him what happened in the moments Avenant had tried to kill Belle and explaining how they'd both run for him and thrown off his aim. The bullet had hit a flock of birds instead, resulting in the dead goose he had seen back on the podium.

"Belle and I owe you our lives, messieurs," Adam said when they were done, "I will be sure to tell Cogsworth and Lumiere to reward you both when we return."

"Thank you, master," the first guard said with a bow.

The second guard began to shuffle his hands nervously. "Your grace," he said to him, "I'm afraid there's something else you should know about the hunter."

* * *

Five minutes later, Adam flew down the stairs, where he found Belle tending to Maurice in an armchair by the fireplace. "You," he said, his eyes blazing, "You talked to him earlier."

"What?" Belle asked with a start. She turned around and saw something dark in his expression, something she hadn't seen in him for a long time.

"Don't hide it from me," Adam snarled "He came to the house earlier. _Avenant!_"

"Oh!" Belle exclaimed. Someone...one of the guards must have told her about the encounter she'd had with Gaston's brother outside the house "Yes," she explained, "But...it was just for a moment."

"A _moment?_ Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought...," her sentence trailed off. _Why hadn't she told him?_ It seemed so irrelevant at the time, but now that she looked back at it...

"Belle he was going to kill both of us!"

"I didn't know, okay? If it makes you feel better, I didn't tell him anything about Gaston or the curse. But maybe...," she thought to herself, "Maybe you should."

Adam looked as though Belle had just told him that he should try controlling his temper, for a change, which they both knew was impossible. "What makes you think he deserves to know?" he demanded.

"Adam, his brother just died!"

"And he almost killed you! Do you think I'm just going to just...just let him get away with that?"

"You've already told half the village already, why exclude him? Maybe if you just put yourself in his shoes for a minute –"

"You think I don't know what he's like?" he challenged, "I know a hell lot more about his type than you do! And trust me, telling him the truth won't help us at all."

He crossed his arms over his chest and Belle could get a good view of his knuckles, raw and bloody from when he'd scraped them against the podium in his attempt to rescue her. She immediately felt a sense of guilt. Adam had risked his life for her; maybe she should try to be a bit more considerate of his feelings.

"Come now," she said as she tried to reach for him, "Let me find some bandages for your hands."

Adam took a step backwards. "How can you be so unconcerned that _our _lives were almost in danger? I don't understand, Belle."

"They're not in danger now. Please…let's not make a scene in front of my father. Just...just try to calm down. We're all _fine._ Nobody got hurt. Avenant's been captured. There's no need to get angry."

"Angry?" Adam's expression became a shade darker, "You have _no idea_ how I feel right now."

He sped out of the room and slammed the door before Belle could say another word.


	12. Cœur d'Obscurité

Adam didn't know how far he'd walked, or where he was going for that matter. He just knew he couldn't be in that cottage a minute longer.

"_Belle doesn't understand anything,"_ he thought. And how could she? It was easy for her to forgive Avenant when she didn't know what it was like to see the same anger, the same hatred in somebody else's eyes…

"_Please, let me go! Don't hurt me!" the man shouted, "I'll do anything! ANYTHING!"_

_A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. For a long moment, the Beast stood on the edge of the roof, dangling the hunter precariously over the ledge. He looked so small and fragile in his grasp. Why should he care if he died? He had invaded his castle; by all means he deserved it. To finish him off would be far too easy, as easy as breaking a twig in half… _

When he finally stopped running it was to find himself standing in a meadow some distance away from the cottage. Belle hadn't followed him out and he was glad. He didn't want her to see him like this. He took a moment to wipe some sweat from his forehead and realized he was a mess: his knuckles were bleeding, his hair had fallen loose from its ponytail, a seam had been popped on the shoulder of his new jacket, and his cravat had come untied. Everything he wore felt so proper and constricted. And he hated it.

Quickly, he tore off his clothes until only his boots, britches and shirt remained. The ruined clothes fell in a heap on to the grass, almost resembling the ragged cloak of an old beggar woman who'd come to his castle so long ago. Being reminded of her only made him more furious.

"Is this another test of yours?" he shouted, "Are you enjoying ruining my happy ending by giving me something more to suffer with?!"

He kicked at his cravat, his jacket and his vest, until his strength gave way and he fell, face first on to the grass. It suddenly dawned on him how stupid he must look. _"As if Molyneaux doesn't think you're crazy enough already, now you're taking your anger out on your clothes. Très bien."_

Slowly, he sat up and buried his face in his hands.

_The Beast felt a strange chill take hold of him as he continued to hold the man out to the edge of the roof. Why was he being so hesitant? He'd deserved to die, didn't he? But, there was something holding him back…he lifted his brows as though seeing the hunter clearly for the first time._

_This felt..._wrong._ Maybe the man _did_ deserve to be punished, but looking into his eyes, he didn't have the strength to do it. He was human, just as much as the Beast had once been. He could not kill him, anymore than he could let Belle remain his prisoner. Slowly, as though working on someone else's orders, he stepped backwards and placed the hunter back on the roof._

"_Get out," he said. He had made the wrong choice of not showing mercy to someone long ago and he was not going to make that mistake again. He was done. And with that, he released him. _

Adam had been so close to dropping Gaston off the ledge that night. He had been completely beast then; all he could see was red. It was a dangerous path he had walked across, and one he thought he could put away for good once he became human.

Until today that was. Today, it had come back. Not for him this time, but for someone else. For Gaston's brother, Avenant.

_"Now now, Prince Adam," Avenant said with a smile, "A lesson must be learned here. You see, you can steal as many wenches as you want from my brother, but killing him? I simply cannot accept that. Now I'm about to cause you the pain that you caused me."_

As if Belle believed that telling Avenant the truth about Gaston would just magically solve all their problems. She obviously didn't know the way people like Avenant thought. Adam did. He knew, because he had been him once. Being a Beast for ten years hadn't just twisted his appearance, but his sense of humanity too. Didn't Belle realize that when he locked her father away in the dungeon last winter, he would have probably let him die there, had she not come looking for him? Or when he'd agreed for Belle to take his place, he was willing to let her starve to death for not eating with him their first night together?

_Of course not_.After all, Belle had never been a Beast. She didn't know what it was like to lose a bit of her sanity day by day, wondering what was the point in caring about anyone, when no one could ever care about her. She didn't know what it was like to spend ten years wasting away in darkness…

_As the years passed the Beast fell into despair and lost all hope. He came to believe that the enchantress had never intended for him to be human again, and so began to act like the Beast he would soon be for life, venturing further out into the black forest, burying his life as a prince on top of shredded curtains, ruined furniture and bloody animal carcasses. Sometimes he felt tempted to lose himself entirely, but then he would see the rose and he would remember._

_The rose had a strange power over the Beast, one he had tried for many years to make sense out of without any avail. He believed that the rose didn't just bind him to his curse; it bound him to his _humanity._ He was convinced that human_ _emotions radiated from that rose, human emotions both great and terrible. It was only through the rose that the Beast's desire to be human again became strongest, and only through the rose that he could see the monster he had truly become. How could a girl ever learn to love him when he couldn't even save himself from the darkness he was sinking into more and more each day? _

_And then, almost ten years later, just when he thought he was about ready to cross the threshold and never come back, _she _had come. And she had proven everything he feared to be wrong. She had shown him kindness, healed him when he'd been injured, treated him like a man instead of a monster, and made him want to prove to her that despite the fact that he was, he _could_ be different._

_It was only through Belle that the Beast could put his inner demons behind him for good. Everything he had done in those six months wasn't for him, or his servants, it was for _her_._

Was Avenant then the man Adam would have been if Belle hadn't come to the castle? Was that the extent the darkness would take him to? He felt chill ran down his spine as he remembered the livid look on Avenant's face as he lifted the rifle, his blue eyes mad with hunger, his mouth curled up into a smile so very similar to his brother's. He was powerful and dangerous and would stop at nothing until he got his revenge. He would hurt Belle, just as Adam had once hurt Maurice.

"_But I can stop him!" _he realized. Yes,from now on, things would be different. Security around the castle gates would be tightened, villagers would be interrogated; followers of Avenant would be scouted out. A thought suddenly occurred to him…what if they were already starting an ambush at the house while he lay out here, doing nothing? What if they'd already taken Belle and Maurice and were out looking for him next? Terrified, he got to his feet and raced back to the village. He only slowed down again when he was within sight of Belle's house.

No one was there. The guards still stood watch around the perimeter, and a quick look through the front window told Adam that Belle was still tending to her father; completely oblivious to her fiancé was watching her from the outside. He couldn't help feeling guilty as he watched her speak, her expression both sad and forlorn. She cared about her father so much. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He hadn't meant for them to suffer like this.

"_The only reason Avenant is after Belle is because of me," _he realized,_ "He knows that if he hurts her, he hurts me too."_

Feeling ashamed, he lowered his hand on to the windowsill. It dawned on him what he had to do. It was obvious, both the simplest and most difficult thing he could do to save this situation.

"_I have to let her go. I'm just fooling myself to think this marriage is right for her. She was almost killed because of me, and might even be killed again if he knows how much I care about her. I'd be no different from how I was ten years ago if I let this marriage continue. I can't be thinking of myself anymore."_

Yes he would have to tell her the truth. Once things had settled down, he'd let Belle know he no longer wanted to marry her, send her and her father to another village where Avenant couldn't find them and then...then...well he didn't want to think about what would happen next.

And yes, maybe that would be hard for him to recover from, but so what? He was just coming to terms with the inevitable. He knew, just as he had the night he had let Belle go free that he was always meant to have misfortune fall on him. He was always meant to be alone. He'd best start living with that truth now, before he really got hurt.

"Master?" said one of the guards, waking the prince from his depressing reverie, "Is everything alright?"

Adam blinked up at him and forced a smile. "I'm fine," he lied, "Just…getting some air. If you'll tell Belle I'm out here…once her father's ready we'll return to the castle."

"Certainly, master," the guard replied. He gave him a bit of a curious looking, probably wondering why he wasn't capable of telling Belle this news himself but went inside to let her know anyway. Once the door had closed, Adam made his way back to the field with the intent of getting his clothes. He thought it best to distance himself from Belle now before things became too unbearable.

* * *

Back at the castle kitchens, Mrs. Potts was disturbed from washing dishes as a plump man in a russet jacket came running through the door, his wig askew and his pocket watch dangling from his front pocket. "Oh, Mrs. Potts, thank heavens!" Cogsworth exclaimed as he stopped to catch his breath, "I've been looking everywhere…have you seen Lumiere anywhere?"

"Afraid I haven't," the cook said in surprise, "Last I heard he was assisting Angelique with the wedding decorations in the ballroom."

"But that was _two hours ago!" _Cogsworth wailed, "No one's seen him since!"

"There, there, Cogsworth. Perhaps you ought to settle down, talk things out, maybe have a nice spot of tea."

"_Tea?_" Cogsworth looked completely appalled at the suggestion."There's _no time _for that! It is vital that I share this important piece of news with Lumiere immediately!" To show what he meant, he brandished an official looking envelope from his pocket. Before Mrs. Potts could enquire on its contents the door opened again and Chip and Sultan came running into the kitchens, crashing into Cogsworth and sending the envelope flying from his hands.

"No!" he shouted. The letter went flying toward a nearby stove, and it was only through an incredible amount of dexterity that he managed to catch it just before it fell into the fire.

"Mama, Mama!" Chip exclaimed, "You should have been there, you should have seen what Sultan did! He jumped so _high_ Mama!"

"Now that's all good and fun Chip, but do you see what you've done?" said Mrs. Potts, "You just knocked poor Cogsworth on to the floor!"

"Oops," Chip said as he turned to the head of household, "Sorry, Cogsworth. I guess I didn't watch where I was going."

"No matter, my dear boy," Cogsworth said as he stood up and brushed the dirt and dog hairs off of his jacket. "It is clear to me that Lumiere is not here, however," he put the envelope back in his pocket, "If you _do _see the man, Mrs. Potts, tell me he is to come see me at once!"

"Of course Cogsworth,"

Cogsworth had spent exactly thirty-nine minutes and forty-two seconds running through the castle, without any clues as to where that blasted maitre d' may be. He was, to put it lightly, becoming quite frustrated. Even though it took less time for him to move from room to room now that he was human, it didn't make it any easier to find people when he needed them, especially Lumiere, who seemed more interested in walking off with maids than carrying out his job of sorting out the master's political affairs. Was Cogsworth the only person in the castle who was concerned about putting the master's throne back together? After the letter he had found today, he was starting to think so.

He was just moving down a corridor on the third floor, wondering if he should start retracing his steps when he heard a high-pitched voice coming from a curtain to his left.

"Oh, _Lumière_," a woman sighed, "Do you not think we are getting a leetle too big to be hiding behind these curtains now?"

"Nonsense, ma cherie," Lumiere replied, "There is plenty of room. _Regarde." _

There was a girlish shriek, followed by an intense rustling of curtains. Cogsworth rolled his eyes. _Of course._

"Aha!" he exclaimed, throwing aside the draperies to reveal the couple concealed behind it.

"Cogsworth!" Lumiere shouted, alarmed. He dropped Babette, causing her to shriek as she hit the ground. "I can explain, I was just…," he suddenly looked quite furious with himself, "What are you doing here?!"

"Well someone has _obviously_ not been reading the letters from the aristocrats lately," Cogsworth said, crossing his arms over his chest. He reached into his front pocket and shoved the envelope underneath his partner's pointy nose, "Read this, you venomed common-kissing coxcomb!"

Lumiere wordlessly snatched the letter from his hand. His expression became more and more aghast as his eyes trailed further down the page.

"He's coming _here?_" he said once he was done.

"Indeed."

"But...well…I _most certainly_ didn't invite him!"

"Oh, _of course_ you didn't," Cogsworth said, rolling his eyes, "You probably filled him with the notion that we're all happy to honour him with his presence, didn't you, _Mister Hospitality_?"

"No I didn't!" Lumiere insisted, "I thought we both agreed we were not going to invite him to the castle until Belle and the master had been married for at least a few months!"

"That's what I thought too, but explain this! You _must_ have told him _something _in the last letter we sent or else why would he have sent this reply?"

"I _did not_ tell him a thing!"

"You did so, you dissembling knotty-pated codpiece!"

"Did not, you fawning bat-fowling haggard!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Cogsworth, look at it this way," Lumiere interrupted, "Even if you didn't invite him, it would be quite foolish for the king to be absent at his own nephew's wedding, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," said Cogsworth, "But you _know_ how the master feels about him."

"How he _felt _about him," the maitre d' corrected, "It's been over ten years since they last saw one another, maybe this is a chance for them to turn over a new leaf."

"With that temper I find that _highly unlikely_," said Cogsworth, "But…_maybe_ it's not too late. If we can send one of our faster couriers to his castle tonight, maybe we can tell him he's ill. Or that they've postponed the wedding ceremony to a later –,"

"_Zut alors!" _Babette suddenly exclaimed as she noticed movement out the castle window, "Lumière, look, ze master has returned!"

Lumiere's face turned chalk white. "So soon?" he gasped.

"Well you know Lumiere," said Cogsworth, "Four hours, twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds is an ample amount of time for Belle and the master to ride to the village and back…"

"_Tais-toi!" _

"_Oui, _he has returned," said Babette. Her expression suddenly fell, "…And it looks like 'zey have brought some company."

The letter was promptly forgotten after that.


	13. Des Héros et Méchants

"I'm back," Belle said as she entered her father's room.

Maurice set down the cup of tea Mrs. Potts had brought for him and motioned for her to sit down. "Did you find him?" he asked hopefully.

Belle shook her head, "Lumiere and Cogsworth took him to get cleaned up," she explained, "And now he's gone off to see the prisoners. I don't know, since the fight we had back at the house he just seems to be…_avoiding me._"

Maurice gave his daughter a sympathetic look, "There, there," he reassured, "I'm sure you'll get to talk with him soon enough. Maybe it's best if you…let him be for a bit."

"Let him be?" Belle repeated, "But we're engaged Papa! How many times is it going to take for him to understand that I _don't_ like being shut away like this? He should be talking to me, not distancing himself!" She slid her hands down her face and let out a heavy sigh. She didn't mean to vent out to her father like this, but it seemed almost inevitable given the circumstances. Ever since their fight back at the village Adam hadn't said a word to her, in fact he had acted as though she wasn't there. She didn't understand why was it that every time something bad happened, Adam always shut everyone out, including her? Did he not trust her enough to help him out after all they'd been through together? Did he think that she was happy to let him face Avenant by himself while she sat on the sidelines like some kind of _femme au foyer?_

"Just when I thought things were looking up," she grumbled, "Now he's worse than ever."

"Now now, Belle," Maurice said, taking his daughter's hand in his, "I can understand why you're upset, and I agree that you have a right to know what's going on. But, maybe...given the circumstances, maybe you should put yourself in Adam's shoes for a minute. He's scared, he's angry, and I can't blame him for making Avenant his priority at the moment."

"You don't really believe Avenant deserves to be punished, do you Papa?" Belle said in surprise.

"Well…," her father rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I can't say I don't. I could forgive Adam for taking you away when I saw how much he meant to you, but Avenant…he almost killed you Belle! After not knowing what was happening to you for six months, I can't say I want my daughter in that kind of danger again. And I don't think Adam wants that either."

"But Avenant _didn't_ hurt me, Papa!" Belle insisted, "Why doesn't anyone understand that? He probably wouldn't have even sent that ambush on us if Adam had just told the village how Gaston really died."

Her father felt a small smile tug on his face, "Once again, you are your mother's daughter through and through," he said, "Always finding the logic behind a problem, even when no one else wants to see it. Well my dear, I wish I could agree with you, but we don't know enough of Avenant's intentions to really say what he deserves. Maybe he really made a mistake, or maybe he really needs to be punished, no one can be certain in this kind of situation."

Belle let out a sigh. "I wish Mama were here, Papa," she confessed, "She'd probably know the best thing to do."

Yes, she had a strong feeling that her mother, of all people would have known what to do about Avenant. After all, she was the one who once taught Belle that everyone deserved a chance at kindness. Even Gaston and Forte, who had destroyed themselves as a result of their own hatred, could have had a chance to be good as much as they could be bad. Was it really wrong of Belle then, to believe that Avenant deserved another chance? Was she putting too many expectations on him after seeing how much the Beast had changed after they met? Maybe not everyone could be like Adam, she realized. Maybe there really were certain darknesses that people _couldn't_ turn away from. That did seem the case for most of the villains in her stories...and yet, even then, she couldn't fully convince herself that people could be all that wicked in real life. There just had to be another answer.

"Belle," Maurice said, "The important thing is that no one got hurt. Adam might be able to say a lot of things about Avenant, but in the end, he can't deny that."

"I guess you're right," Belle said.

"And…," Maurice continued, "I'm glad you're safe, Belle,"

Belle smiled. "I'm glad you are, too, Papa." She reached over to hug him, feeling grateful that at least one person would be on her side no matter what. But she still worried about the third person in their equation: Adam. How was she going to fix this rift that had fallen between them? And what exactly did he have in store for Avenant and the other prisoners over in the dungeons?

* * *

_"Mangez ma merde!"_ Gaston's brother shouted as he rattled the bars of his cell door, _"Allez au diable, vous fils de pute! Si vous pensez que vous __pouvez m'enfermer dans ce cachot vous avez tort! Sur le nom de ma famille, je détruirai le monstre qui a tué mon frère! __Vous ne pouvez pas m'arrêter!"_

"Oi!" a guard shouted as he struck the bars of the door with his spear, "Watch your mouth in there! The Prince is coming to see you."

Avenant's eyes grew wide with shock, "He's coming here, eh?" he said, "Then by all means, let him in here so I can give the _connard inutile_ a piece of my mind!"

"Master," the guard said, turning back to face the prince who was standing behind him with two other guards, "Perhaps it would be best if you waited a bit to speak with the prisoner. You know how temperamental they can be their first day here."

"Give me the key," said Adam. In an instant he had unlocked the door and crossed the room into Avenant's cell. The hunter barely had time to open his mouth before the prince grabbed him violently by his shirt collar and pinned him against the wall.

"YOU!" he shouted, his blue eyes blazing fiercely into Avenant's, "Why did you try to kill us?"

"Temper, temper," Avenant taunted back, "Always a sign of a killer."

"Answer me!" Adam ordered, but the man simply spat on his face. He flinched and then turned back to face him.

"You realize that you are in the presence of the prince of Touraine, don't you? It is only from the goodness of my heart that I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself."

"Well I guess you're just wasting your time then, aren't you?" Avenant replied, "Starve me, torture me - kill me the way you killed my brother! That's really all you want to do, isn't it?"

"No," Adam said, though truthfully he was finding it difficult not to find an excuse to take him out on the spot, "And for the last time, your brother died of his own accord."

"Ha! I'll believe that when I see it," said Avenant, "Where's the evidence? Where's your story?"

"You want a story?" said Adam, "Fine, I'll give you a story! What if I told you that this castle was cursed for ten years? What if I told you that all those superstitions your parents told you about not going into the woods after dark were real? What if I told you that your brother _died _because he wanted Belle for himself and was afraid that a certain _Beast _would get in the way of that? What if I told you that in his own arrogance, he stabbed the Beast and fell to his own death? That's the story, _ça marche_, are you happy now?"

Avenant's expression was oddly blank. And then he let out a laugh, so loud and maniacal that it echoed across all four corners of the cell as though several Avenants were laughing with him at once.

"Do you honestly believe that I'm interested in hearing _une histoire cinglée _about my brother's death, Prince Adam?" he grinned, "Not that it makes any difference whether your little cover story about the Beast is true or not. My plan to avenge him was only half of the reason why I rounded up the town together in the first place. An alibi, if you will."

"What?" Adam said in disbelief.

"Oh yes, Prince Adam," he said calmly, "I didn't just do this for my brother. I did this because it was _fun._ Because I _could._ Imagine, spending seventeen years of my life, always in my brother's shadow, denied the love of my father, denied the respect of the other townspeople all because I wasn't as _good_ as Gaston, I wasn't as _man_ as him. Even outside the village, I could barely stand the time of day from the other villagers. It was always they already had a hunter, another town hero to worship. I was no better than a mutt in a field of pedigrees."

He spat on the floor as the bitter memories came flooding back: watching Gaston get praised by his father for bringing back the biggest deer, the biggest bear, his years traveling the countryside looking for a place to claim his own, only to spend his nights gambling and drinking, thinking of his brother and how he never suffered this humiliation because he had a tavern and the support of an entire village on his side.

"But then," he continued, "Imagine my luck when I returned to town to discover that my brother was dead and Molyneaux was without a leader. With Gaston gone, I could do anything! For once, it was I who made the speeches in the taverns, and I who the village men listened to! I led a whole mob to do my bidding, and...I almost succeeded, didn't I?" he grinned, "I almost killed the prince's bride!" He let out a hearty laugh, "And now the people of Molyneaux won't just be telling their children about the great Gaston, they'll be telling them about the great Avenant and how he got revenge on the prince for killing his own brother! I'll be like the hero my brother never was! _Très géniale, _don't you think?"

A look of disgust appeared on Adam's face, "You," he said, "Are despicable."

"Oh yes, I really am, aren't I?" Avenant said indifferently, "And what about you, Prince Adam? Do you really think that the idea of locking Gaston's fiancée in your castle and forcing her to marry you is your idea of chivalry? We are the same, you and I."

"No," Adam said, turning away from him, "We are nothing alike."

"I see. So you're going to kill me then?" Avenant asked, and his voice became strangely calm, almost inquisitive sounding.

"No," said the prince. He released Avenant and slowly walked back to the door. "Your plan has been in vain. Whatever you've let yourself and the other villagers believe, your brother died by his own hand. I did not kill him." He opened the door and turned back to him, "And I will not kill you, either."

The cell door closed, and Avenant was once again, left alone in the darkness.

* * *

_"I didn't just do this for my brother. I did this because it was _fun._ Because I _could.

_And now the people of Molyneaux won't just be telling their children about the great Gaston, they'll be telling them about the great Avenant and how he got revenge on the prince for killing his own brother! I'll be like the hero my brother never was!_

_And what about you, Prince Adam? Do you really think that the idea of locking Gaston's fiancée in your castle and forcing her to marry you is your idea of chivalry? We are the same, you and I."_

For the longest time, Adam sat at his desk in the bureau, Avenant's words repeating themselves over and over inside his head.

He couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that any man would take advantage of their brother's death as a way of reaching their own glory. It was absolutely disgusting, inhuman almost. Adam had been an arrogant prince once, but he had never once exploited anyone to get what he wanted. Sure maybe he had stepped on Lumiere and Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts as a boy, but he'd never taken real pleasure in it...not like Avenant. "_Maybe we aren't as alike as I thought," _he pondered,_ "Maybe he's really the monster here. Does that mean I should have killed him? Does he really deserve it after all?"_

Someone was coming into the room. He could hear her before he saw her, the familiar rustling of her skirts as she walked from the other side of the room to where he sat. "Banishment?" she asked.

He lowered his eyes. "For ten years."

"And the other villagers?"

"Will be sent back home, once they give me their word they won't attack us again. They were working under orders and didn't really know what they were getting into."

There was a very pregnant pause. He could feel her eyes on him and tried his hardest not to look back, instead trying to draw his attention to some stray documents Cogsworth had left out on the desk.

"Adam - ?" she asked.

"Did I do the right thing Belle?" he blurted out. It wasn't so much a question but an apology. He was asking her to forgive him.

Belle walked forward until she was standing right in front of the desk. "Adam, listen to me," she said, "It's..._not your fault_ that Avenant acted as he did. He was just confused and angry and trying to come to terms with his brother's death. And maybe...while he's banished he'll realize his mistake...and he'll be glad you spared his life so he can get another chance."

She expected him to say something back to her, but he was strangely silent. "Is something wrong?"

"Belle," he replied, rubbing his eyes, "I've been thinking, maybe if it's better...if we don't get married."

Her mouth fell open in shock. "What did you say?"

"No matter what I do," he continued, "There's always someone, or something against me. And I have to keep asking myself over and over whether this is really the right thing, whether you've sacrificed enough for me already, whether you'd be happy living in a castle all your life, whether you'd be safe with me when people like him are out to get you. All these worries, all these doubts," he ran his fingers through his hair, "And after what happened today...I just feel like they're all signs...signs that we shouldn't be getting married."

Belle was speechless. "This is what you're worried about?" she asked softly.

"I always am."

"But Adam...this isn't your fault!"

"Of course it is!" he snapped, "Everything goes back to what I am. It doesn't matter if I'm a Beast...or a Prince, there's always going to be something against me, something that's going to affect you. I just want you to realize that you have a choice a choice to back away from all of this and have a normal life...,"

"And I have a feeling that you are trying to pressure to make a choice I do not want to make!" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what if I am Belle?" He quickly rose from his chair. "What if he comes back? That man is dangerous. I talked to him, I know! If those guards weren't there...I don't know if I can protect you from people like him, Belle."

"That's only if he comes back, _if!_" she countered, "Why do you always think these kinds of things are going to happen?"

"Why?" Adam thundered, "Well maybe if you spent ten years of your life hating everything about yourself, being denied everything you once loved, you'd understand. But, oh yes, that's right, you haven't been turned into a Beast recently have you?"

"ADAM!" Belle shouted. So this was what it came down to. Going on about his past as the Beast...again. How many times was it going to take for him to realize that the worst was over already? Was it enough that she'd broken the spell on him already, now she had convince him that she loved him even after these small problems they'd been facing since the spell broke?

Angrily, she walked up to him and looked him right in the eyes, "Adam, maybe you're right," she said, "Maybe I don't know what it's like to be cursed. Maybe I'll never understand how it feels to always have bad things happen to me. But..._good _things have happened to you, too. I love you, and if you think I'm leaving you just because of things that may not even happen...you're wrong. I made my decision that night I returned to the castle. I almost lost you once, and I am _not _going to lose you again."

He said nothing, only crossed his arms and turned his face away from her. He was closing up again, putting up the walls she'd spent so many months helping him to tear down. What could she do to show him how much she cared, how much she wanted to save him from this darkness he'd been in for far too long?

Slowly, she stood on her toes and kissed him. He tried to resist, but she only pulled him closer to her, grabbing both his wrists and holding him tightly in place. Then, with a sudden burst of energy he found himself responding, placing his arms around her waist as she moved her arms up to his shoulders, and then they were both kissing, their bodies taking the lead as they proclaimed their love for each another in ways where their words could not. How could he give her up when she was the only light in the world, the only thing that held back the darkness that threatened to consume him from all sides?

_"Your highness, Belle doesn't care if you're a Beast or a Prince. Her only fear is losing you. By letting her go, you are hurting her more than you can imagine."_

For the longest time they stood in place, his arms wrapped tightly around her, her head resting against his chest. "Do you really still want to marry me, Belle?" he asked softly.

"Of course, _mon amour_," she said as she touched his face, "Nothing in the world would make me change my mind."

She smiled at him and Adam willed himself to remember the first time he had kissed her, the exact innocence of the moment, the moment when he knew that things could only get better, that he could finally give to her all the love he could never give to her as a Beast. In all the fairytales they'd read together, true love always prevailed. Maybe, despite everything, he could have faith that their love could also come with a happy ending.

* * *

"All right Monsieur," the captain of the guard said as he fastened the handcuffs around Avenant's wrists, "Your chariot awaits.

"You're leaving?" Le Fou exclaimed from where he was being held in the cell opposite him, "But you're Gaston - I mean, Avenant! You can't go!"

"Oh, don't worry Le Fou," Avenant grinned as the guards began to lead him down the corridor, "I'll be back soon. _Make no mistake about that._"


	14. Oncle Christophe

The days following Avenant's banishment were quiet to say the least. While the rest of the castle was quick to resume their regular duties once the last of the prisoners had been returned to the village, Belle knew that there was a lot more going on beneath the surface, and only wished that the time she spent getting fitted for her wedding dress she could spend keeping Adam company instead. She knew it would take him some time to recover from what they had discussed in the bureau, and was becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that the wedding preparations kept them from seeing each other on a regular basis. The only time when they were together now was during rehearsals, and even then, Cogsworth was so determined that the two of them had their vows memorized that they could hardly get any conversation in, apart from what they were meant to practice.

On Wednesday evening, after returning to her room from dinner, Belle finally lost it and went to the West Wing to call Adam out for the ridiculous amount of security being brought to her door; specifically the four guards, Babette and Madame Armoire that had been sent to look after her while she slept.

"Adam, this is completely unnecessary!" she shouted at him.

"Of course it's necessary!" he shouted back, "How am I supposed to be sure those villagers aren't going to come back and kidnap you while you're asleep?"

"Nothing is going to happen! Besides, they gave you their word –"

"And you think I actually trust they're all going to keep it?"

"Adam, these are the people from my village you're talking about!"

"Yeah, the same people who attacked the castle and tried to kill you!"

"You are being so paranoid!"

"And you are being so _difficult!" _he shot back, "I can give you two options right now. Either you let the servants stay with you during the night, or I will sit in your room and watch you myself, that's right, my own fiancée!"

The case was pretty much closed after that. As much as Belle loved Adam, she knew that it wasn't done for him to stay in her room before they got married. In the end she just yielded to the fact that some arguments she would never get to win with her future husband, as silly and pointless as they could be sometimes.

Adam on the other hand was finding it hard to understand why he was the only person in the castle who seemed to feel any real concern for Belle's safety. Even Cogsworth and Lumiere had told him implicitly that they felt the security around her room was a bit much, to which he had responded by telling them they were free to join the patrol guards if they had a problem. The following day, he'd overheard one of his maids say that maybe having Belle in the castle hadn't really changed him for the better if it meant he was going to be acting even more unpleasant, and he ended up lashing out at her too, saying that maybe she'd be better consider getting a new job if she had nothing else better to talk about.

He didn't wish to be so mean to everyone, but as he realized, ten years of being a Beast could bring out the worst in him sometimes. He actually wished he could sleep with Belle, if only to have the comfort of seeing her there, alive and safe when he woke up in the mornings. Instead, he spent the next few nights falling into nightmares about Gaston, Avenant, Belle, or some combination of the three and then would wake up panicked and disoriented, thinking that Gaston was still alive or that he was a Beast again. In the end he just gave up on sleep entirely, spending his nights glossing over textbooks he'd been neglecting to read, or working on his handwriting, which had fallen dreadfully out of practice after not being able to hold a quill for ten years.

On Thursday afternoon, Adam dozed off while reading over a geography textbook in the West Wing, and had to be called three times by his maitre d' and majordomo before he woke up again. "What?" he muttered groggily "Is the heartless here? Is Belle alright?"

"Ahem…pardon the intrusion master," Cogsworth said twisting his hands fretfully, "But there is someone here to see you. This has nothing to do with the hunter."

By the time they reached the fifth floor corridor Adam was wide awake and more temperamental than ever. "I told you I don't like seeing guests," he grumbled.

"I know master," said Lumiere, "But this is a special circumstance."

"Well who are they?" he asked, "What do they want?"

"You'll see master, in just a moment,"

They stopped at the door to the bureau and chucked him inside without saying another word. _"Who do they think I am, a child?"_ he thought irritably. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned around to see his guest was already waiting behind the desk. He was a relatively tall man; his hands tucked sensibly behind his back as he stood looking out of the window. Judging from the burgundy waist coat, black britches and buckled shoes he was wearing, Adam could only guess that he was another French nobleman come to seek an audience with him. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, if you're here to talk about taxing," he said as he came forward, "I'd advise you to speak to my majordomo because I –"

The man turned around and Adam let his jaw fall open. He quickly realized that this was no nobleman. Maybe he was a bit older; his face was a bit more lined and there were silver strands in his brown hair that weren't there before…but it was him. The only father-figure he could remember from his childhood, the man who had left him with the promise that he would come back for him once, but never had.

"Adam!" the king said, approaching him slowly, "It's really you! Cogsworth and Lumiere seemed to have barely aged, I almost thought...," he paused, placing a tentative hand on his face, "Well you are not a little boy anymore at all, are you?" he said in quiet astonishment, "_Mon dieu,_ you look so much like your father...,"

Adam felt for a moment as though he'd left his voice back with his textbooks in the West Wing. "Uncle…Christophe?" he managed, looking at him as though he had just seen a ghost.

Christophe continued to smile and look Adam up and down as though he were a particularly impressive breed of horse being sold to him by a local horse merchant, "Oh, it's been too long _neveu!_" he said finally as he moved to embrace him, "It's so good to see you again after so many years."

_So many years._ Something in these words caused Adam to break out of his stupor. Repressed memories of waiting for his Uncle to return from Tours came flooding back, and a cold feeling of resentment suddenly took hold of him. "So you've finally shown up then," he said coldly, taking a step backwards.

Christophe's expression began to falter, "Why...yes," he said, "It's not everyday my nephew gets himself married."

"Did Lumiere and Cogsworth invite you?" he asked.

"My dear boy, no! I came of my own accord!"

"Oh yeah?" Adam said, feeling his temper rising along with his voice, "And I suppose what? The past fifteen years haven't mattered to you at all?"

"Of course they have! Adam, I've wanted to see you for so long, I just - ,"

"You're LYING!" he shouted at him, "You _left_ me here, and you never came back. You never cared about me at all."

A very tense silence filled the room. The king bowed his head. He had knew that this would happen of course, knew before he'd come here that the boy would be like this, and yet nothing in his ten years of ruling a monarch could ever prepare him for what he had to say to him next.

"Adam," he began slowly, "Allow me to explain –"

"Save it," Adam snapped angrily, "You're probably just disappointed that I'm not dead yet."

He was out of the room before his uncle could get another word in.

* * *

Lumiere and Cogsworth both flinched as the prince stepped back into the corridor. He looked so furious he might have been about ready to breathe fire.

"Why did you let him in here?" he quickly demanded.

"Why he's your Uncle, master!" Lumiere said in a startled voice, "He's here for the same reason the rest of your guests are here!"

"He's the one who left me to _rot_ in this castle for fifteen years!" he fumed, "And he thinks that he can just show up to my - our wedding without any explanation?"

"Master, the matter of fact is that your uncle is still higher in status than you," Cogsworth pointed out, "It might be more prudent if you at least listen to what he has to say, rather than suffer a punishment from him later on."

Adam let out a snort. "I've been turned into a Beast for ten years, you really think I give a damn how he plans to punish me?" he said, "Get him out of here; I don't care if he's the king. This is my castle, and he's not welcome here." With that, he stormed off in the direction of the West Wing. Lumiere and Cogsworth both sighed as they watched him leave. They just _knew_ that this would be a bad idea.

"Well, it seems like we're back now the beginning now," Cogsworth said, "The master might as well be ten years younger…"

"Maybe we should have just told him the truth," said Lumiere.

"No," Christophe said, peering his head out from the doorway, "I should have told him, right from the beginning. He's old enough now, he deserves as much."

"Your highness," Lumiere said, "The master has been going through a lot this past week. Perhaps if you would allow us to speak with him for a bit, we may be able better iron out that temper of his."

"I appreciate the courtesy Lumiere but there's no need to trouble yourself," Christophe replied, "I was a fool to believe that the boy was just be ready speak to me after leaving him in this castle for fifteen years. I should have just listened to your warnings and come by after he'd gotten married."

"Oh, but that's no reason to give up hope your highness," Cogsworth persisted, who like Lumiere was determined to show as much hospitality to the king as possible, "We know his behaviour is a bit…dismal at the moment, but we can assure you that he has in fact changed a great deal in your absence. Besides you've already travelled such a great distance to see him."

"Well…," Christophe said with a small smile, "Only if it won't inconvenience you."

"Of course it won't your highness!" Lumiere said brightly.

With that, the two servants went off to trail after the master. The king let out a heavy sigh as he watched them leave. Despite the servants' frank optimism that the prince would come around once he spoke to them, he was quite sure that he'd done enough damage by being here already. He'd left the boy alone for fifteen years after all what did he expect, that he'd just welcome him back into the castle with open arms? The boy had every right to be angry with him, and forget trying to earn his forgiveness, that was _completely_ out of the question. He'd abandoned him, he hadn't done his part in raising him, and he had no excuse, for any of it.

He was quite sure that even his own brother would not be able forgive him for what he had let happen to his son after that.


	15. Recoller les Morceaux

It was while she was on her way to the library that Belle happened to catch sight of a middle-aged man standing in the eastern corridor, examining some of the portraits hanging on the wall. She found herself intrigued, having never seen any noblemen in the castle before, and began to slow her pace as she approached him, unsure of how she was supposed to address herself.

"So many faces gone," Christophe said aloud as he examined a portrait of his _arrière-grand-père_ riding on his horse back in Azay-le-Rideau. He had forgotten exactly how many of the old family portraits had hung in the castle. His musings were interrupted as he sensed someone behind him, and turning around, met eyes with a young woman, her hands clasped neatly in front of the dress that she was wearing.

Belle's eyes lit up as she realized who she was standing before. "Your majesty!" she exclaimed, forcing a curtsy on the carpet. She had only seen the provincial king once as a child, and certainly hadn't been as close as she was to him now.

Christophe gave Belle a cordial smile, "Oh there's no need for that my dear," he replied, "Such formalities are only required for the court. And you are...?"

"Belle," Belle replied quickly, "Belle Dupont."

The king's expression became one of shock. "Not _the_ Belle Dupont?" he said, "The same woman who will be marrying Prince Adam in two weeks?"

"Well, yes," Belle replied shyly.

"Well congratulations my dear! And may I just say that you are quite a beauty." He kissed her hand and then, quite suddenly, pulled her forward so that they were standing literally inches away from one another. "You're the one who broke the spell then?"

Belle felt a chill run down her spine. "Yes."

Christophe nodded and released her, allowing her to move back to a normal distance, "Forgive me, my child," he said, "I had to check. You can't imagine how demanding these aristocrats have been, asking me where my nephew's been for the past decade. I just don't know who I can trust anymore."

Belle rubbed her arm as she processed these words, "You knew about the curse?" she said in surprise.

_"Mais oui,_ I've known about it for a long time I'm afraid. That's part of the reason why I'm here. Oh, but how rude of me! I am Christophe Benjamin Étienne Robert Adrian d'Évrard, King Vincent's brother, Prince Adam's Uncle and have been in charge of managing the throne during his extended absence."

They shook hands and Belle took a moment to properly survey who she now recognized as Adam's last living family member. He did bear a few resemblances to her fiancé, but they were very subtle. Had he not mentioned it, she would have never known that they were related. "Adam has never mentioned you were his Uncle before," she told him.

"No?" Christophe replied, raising his eyebrow, "Well, I can completely understand. Between you and me he's not very happy to see me."

"Well, why ever not?" Belle asked, "You are his family, aren't you?"

Christophe turned his head up and down the corridor as though afraid someone would hear him. "Walk with me," he said finally.

They treaded some distance down the corridor he finally spoke again. "I suppose Adam hasn't told you much about his parents?"

"He said they both died when he was a child," Belle answered.

"Didn't mention what happened after, eh?" a sad smile appeared on his face, "Completely understandable."

"Well what happened?" She wanted to respect that there were some details about Adam's past he didn't want to get into, but this _did_ seem quite serious. If he wasn't letting his own Uncle into the castle she wanted to know at least why.

Christophe took another glance behind them before he began, "After my brother - Adam's father died," he explained, "I was left in charge of the kingdom and was also left to care for Adam who was only five years old at the time. His mother, Catherine had died when he was _un bambin_ you see, and apart from what company I could provide him with, the boy was very much alone.

I did my very best to ensure he was being tutored properly, with all the things his father would have wanted for him, but even with my best efforts I realized I could not run a kingdom and look after a child at the same time. Eventually I had to make the choice between taking care of the prince or running the kingdom. I chose -"

"The kingdom?" Belle finished.

Christophe nodded. "Yes." His face was still for a moment. "But understand my dear, Vincent had left Touraine in a very bad state during his illness; I thought that if I went away for a few months to work on restoring it, I could focus on Adam's upbringing afterwards. But as it turned out, once I was engaged in the province's politics, there was no going back.

I placed Adam in one of our best castles with a party of the best servants I could hire. Many of them had served the King and Queen when they had married, and were happy to do the same for his son, but things quickly grew out of hand. Adam had already been pampered quite a bit during his father's illness you see, and without a proper father-figure to discipline him, he became out of control. Lumiere and Cogsworth would write to me, asking - no begging if I could come visit, if only for a few days, but I was knee-deep in work at that point, it was near-impossible. I thought if I stayed away long enough he would eventually grow up on his own. I was wrong.

It was five years later; when I finally sent someone to the castle, and they told me it was abandoned, resonating with the aura of demons. I believed them to be drunken fools at first, and planned to send them out again, when Cogsworth and Lumiere sent me a letter and told me everything. I was horrified...I thought for sure God was punishing me for leaving him. I knew I could not come to the castle after that."

"You didn't even want to see your nephew?" Belle said in surprise.

"I was afraid, child!" Christophe explained, eyes growing wide, "Not just for my safety, but for his. My nephew had been turned into a Beast, and I simply could not enter the castle, associating myself with what would be well assumed to be a demon to the people's eyes. They might have tried to kill me, even worse they may have tried to hunt him down. You understand I had to stay away, to protect both of us."

Belle was surprised. She'd never considered the dangers of revealing the prince's curse to the kingdom before, but then again, after seeing what her village had almost done when they found out, maybe leaving him alone in the castle _was_ the safest thing he could do. She quickly tried looking at the positives. "You've come back now," she pointed out.

"Yes," Christophe replied, "I come here offering my full apologies to him for leaving him in such a terrible way, and to reconcile with him before the wedding. I know that I don't deserve it, but...I felt that it was important that I be here."

She nodded. "I will go and talk with him."

"My dear, that is hardly necessary. Lumiere and Cogsworth have already gone..."

"But it's me he'll listen to. Trust me, your highness."

* * *

"I'm not speaking to him!" Adam shouted from the West Wing.

"Forgive and forget master," said Lumiere, "The fact that he has come to your wedding proves he has not abandoned you! And remember what happened in those fifteen years when he left? You found Belle. And you fell in love."

"Just leave me alone."

"Excuse me," Belle said, as she stepped into the West Wing. She nodded at Lumiere and Cogsworth to leave, a look that was returned with much relief and then turned to face Adam, who was standing with his arms crossed facing the window.

"_Oncle Christophe?"_ she asked once the two servants had left the room.

"Belle, I wish you'd stay out of this."

"I won't! Why won't you talk to him at least?"

"He's the whole reason I was locked away here," Adam said irritably, "Why I became the way I was. Do you have any idea how bad it feels to know that you're not wanted by anyone? To think that there's no one there for you?" He turned to face her, and for the first time she noticed how tired he looked, dark circles resting underneath his eyes.

"You have every right to be angry Adam," she said as she approached him, "But can't you at least listen to what he has to say? He does feel bad."

"Humph, why should I?"

"Why? Because you're a human now! It's the right thing to do."

"You're acting like Cogsworth now."

"And you are acting very immature!"

A tense silence filled the room. Belle moved a strand of her hair away from face and took a deep breath. She refused to make this a scene so close to their wedding day. "Adam, remember when we got into that fight?" she said, more softly, "And how Webster and LaPlume forged those apology notes for us? Imagine what would have happened if they didn't do that. If we'd never made up. Think of how awful that would be."

"I just don't think I can do this Belle," Adam replied as he placed a hand on his forehead, "To see him now...I just get so many memories."

"I understand Adam. But can't you try starting fresh, just this once? You had bad memories of Christmas last year, and you still let us celebrate it."

"That was different. You wanted to have a Christmas, I gave you one."

"And you said yourself, it was one of the best Christmases you ever had."

"It was the best one, because you were there," he corrected. He stepped towards her and caressed the side of her face, thinking about all he had to be grateful for because of her. Was it really so hard to talk to his Uncle when they would be together so soon? This was just one thing, one thing in the greater scheme of things.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said finally, "But I'm not going to like this. Not one bit."

Belle smiled and she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she said.

* * *

"You better explain, and fast," said Adam, sitting down at the bureau desk across from his Uncle, "Why didn't you come back?"

"I wanted to," Christophe replied quietly.

"So why didn't you?"

"Touraine had just lost its king, Adam!" he explained, "I had a province to reorganize, it wasn't simply a question of visiting the castle whenever I so pleased. If I'd known things would have been this way, I would have taken you with me. I should have seen the warnings, when you were a boy, I would get letters saying how worse you were getting and I ignored them, thinking it was a phase, that it would come to pass. And then when Lumiere and Cogsworth told me about the curse...Adam, I was terrified."

A dark expression fell on Adam's face, "They told you about the curse?" he said.

Christophe looked as though he had just swallowed a fly. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut for once? "Adam I - ,"

"And what, I guess they told you to stay away?" he interrupted, "That I was dangerous?"

"No, my dear boy! Staying away from the castle was my own choice."

"What kind of king leaves his nephew alone for fifteen years?"

"Adam," said Christophe, "I know I may have made mistakes, but I can assure you, there hasn't been _one_ moment since I heard about the curse that I haven't regretted leaving you there. Everything I've done for the past ten years was to protect you."

_Christophe strode through the halls with the parchment clasped tightly in his hand. His mind was a turmoil of emotions for what he had learned, for what he had done. The words on the parchment kept echoing through his brain...old woman, Enchantress, punished the prince; put a spell on the castle. It was real. They had used the seal, of course it was real._

_"Vincent," he sobbed once he entered the study. The brown-haired man looked down at him from his portrait above the fireplace, his appearance stern and wise, and beyond anyone Christophe could hope to be, as both a king and a father. "What have I done? Your son has been condemned all because of me. I was meant to look out for him. I failed."_

_"Your highness," the voice was cool, feminine. He spun around to see a woman with long golden hair standing on the other side of the room._

_"You!" he said in alarm, "You're the witch who cursed my nephew,"_

_"Indeed."_

_"Please, I beg of you!" he cried as he ran forward and clutched at her robes, "Put the curse on me, not him. I'm the one who caused him to be this way."_

_"You have a brave heart Christophe, but there is nothing I can do. The prince's actions that night were his own. It is too late."_

_"Surely there is something you can do. He's just a boy, he doesn't know!"_

_"A boy with no love in his heart," the Enchantress said indifferently," He is the rightful king's son and will soon take on your duties. He had to learn a lesson. You know this, Christophe. "_

_Christophe felt his teeth begin to chatter in anguish, "At what cost?" he demanded, "I have my brother's kingdom to repair, and now I must worry about my nephew wrecking havoc on the villagers in this form you have given him?"_

_"You will find he does not care to venture outside the castle for now," she replied calmly, "It is a sanctuary for him, as it is for his servants."_

_"They are to stay there then?"_

_"Yes,"_

_"...forever?"_

_"There will come a time when a girl will come to the castle, a girl with the potential to break his curse and restore him and his household to their human form," said the enchantress, "If you truly regret neglecting him, for leading him to this moment, you will do what you can to prepare him for her arrival." _

_"But how? I don't even dare to go to the castle now, knowing what may happen." _

_"You have been given a letter, Christophe. Think about it." She smiled at him, and then, in a flash of light, she was gone._

_For the rest of the night, Christophe replayed the Enchantress's conversation over, his mind teeming with questions. How could he help his nephew when he couldn't even come to the castle? And this girl who was to come to the castle, who was she exactly? When would she come? How was she meant to break his nephew's curse? He turned the letter over in his hands, reading it until each word was memorized. Making a visit to the old castle so close to the English ambassador's visit was out of the question, but...there might be another way, something else he could do to help. With quick haste, he went to the bureau, got out a fresh piece of parchment and quill and started writing._

"I corresponded with Lumiere and Cogsworth," Christophe continued, "We sent each other letters by that bird of yours – Witherspoon, giving each other news on the goings-on, the progress you were making. I hired servants to go into the nearby villages to start up the wives tales about the castle being haunted, told the aristocrats that I'd sent you to another country, even arranged for food to be imported to the castle or else you wouldn't have been able to feed the girl when she came here. I know it was a poor substitution for what I made you suffer through, but it was the best I could do without putting you at risk. I'm sorry my boy, truly I am."

Adam leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He suddenly felt tired, tired of worrying about whether Avenant was coming back, tired of yelling at his servants, tired of being angry at people for making mistakes. His uncle may have abandoned him, yes, but he had had good intentions behind it. Was it really so hard to let go of his anger when everything had worked out in the end?

"I forgive you," he said, "And, I give you permission to stay for the wedding, that is, if you can pardon my temper."

"My boy!" Christophe laughed in spite of himself, "Your father was not exactly the most refined prince growing up either. It would come as quite a shock to me not to see you inherit some of his qualities. And, as I understand, you have been having a lot of troubles to deal with recently, too. Cogsworth and Lumiere told me what happened at the village."

The prince nodded, not wanting to remember that horrible day when he had almost lost Belle, forever. Christophe put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Every monarch has its own scrapes, _neveu,"_ he said sympathetically, "With a position as high as ours; I guess you can say it is to be expected. But you handled it the best way you could and that is all that matters. There is nothing more you need to worry about."

He smiled at him and the prince found himself returning it. "She means the world to me, _Oncle_," he said, "I waited for her for ten years; it's very difficult for me not to worry about her."

"She is a remarkable young woman," his uncle agreed, "And has more brains than the other girls at the court do, if I do say so myself. I'm sure she will make a fine addition to the family. Which brings me to another matter," he clapped his hands together, "The_ last minute wedding preparations."_


	16. Pour Aimer et Chérir

A fortnight passed. Adam became extremely glad he'd made up with his Uncle, because under his leadership wedding preparations finally began to come together. Pretty soon food platters were being prepared, a new keyboardist was found to replace Maestro Forte, and Lumiere and Cogsworth finally agreed on a main course that seemed to satisfy everyone. As well as assisting with wedding preparations, Christophe also proved useful in accompanying Adam to meet the aristocrats when they arrived in for the ceremony. Adam found the support of the king to be comforting in dealing with some of the nobles, but was also surprised to find that many of the guests were quite kind; being well-acquainted with his parents before their deaths. Knowing he could carry out a normal conversation with them made him feel a bit better about himself, although he wouldn't admit that to anyone, except Belle.

With all the activity that had taken place, the wedding day couldn't come soon enough. On Saturday morning, Lumiere woke the Prince to prepare him for the wedding ceremony. He helped him change into a white waistcoat with white frills and golden fastenings, black britches, new riding boots (he hadn't quite gotten used to wearing shoes yet), and tied his long hair back into his usual ponytail.

As Adam examined himself in the mirror, he couldn't get over how _different _he looked. He'd only been eleven when the enchantress had come to the castle, and ten years later, it was easy to see he was not a boy anymore. He had grown taller, his body was more muscular, and his face no longer carried the same roundness from when he was a child. He was in one word, a man. But it didn't exactly feel that way. Actually, he didn't want to admit it, but he was scared of looking at himself in mirrors because he was convinced he was looking at an illusion, and he would turn back into the beast if he looked hard enough. Turning away from his reflection, he met eyes with his maitre d', who was smiling at him, proudly.

"You look splendid, master," he told him.

The prince ignored Lumiere, proceeding to circle the room and fidget with his cravat. "I can't do this, Lumiere," he said, "I feel so nervous."

"Ah, that's one of the beauties of _l'amour_, master. You must take it in, savour the moment. Think about Belle and how wonderful she makes you feel."

"I think I'd rather get this wedding over with first, thanks." He placed his hand over his vest pocket where the ring was, and sighed. _Were marriages always meant to be this nerve-racking? _

"Well at least you have nothing to worry about as far as the _voyage de noces _goes," Lumiere continued, "The restorations to the Château d'Amboise are looking magnificent as I've heard from your Uncle. They've cleaned up your parents' old bedchambers for tonight, and you and Belle will be able to visit the Loire river whenever you so desire."

Adam froze in mid-step. That's right, tonight was the wedding night! As if forgetting his vows wasn't frightening enough, he didn't even know what he was going to do about _that_. "Lumiere," he said, turning around in a panic, "For tonight, do you mind explaining again how I – ?"

But at that moment, Cogsworth walked into the room, pocket watch in hand, "Its ten o'clock now," he told them, "The guests are taking their seats, it is time for the master to make his way downstairs."

"_Allez-y_ _maitre_," Lumiere said to the Prince. "Let's not keep your bride waiting."

* * *

"You look like a gem," said Madame Armoire, "Trust me; the master won't know what hit him when he sees you in that."

"You did a wonderful job," Belle agreed, twirling around in her finished wedding gown, "Thank you so much."

"It's much better than anything that old needle, Monsieur Aiguille could make," Madame Armoire continued smugly, "I'm only sorry that I won't be able to see you in all the lovely dresses I made for your honeymoon. You'll have other servants to help with those."

"Oh, but you can see them once we return, can't you?" Belle asked.

"Of course I can, dear. Only...three months seems so long! Not having anyone to dress, after ten years, ah, it seems so unbearable!"

Belle couldn't help feel a bit of sympathy for her former wardrobe. King Christophe had arranged a whole tour of France for her and Adam's honeymoon, an event that had stirred a great deal of sadness as well as joy among the castle staff. Just a few days ago Belle overheard Mrs. Potts saying to Cogsworth how difficult it was going to be living without their company, to which Cogsworth had confessed he wasn't sure he'd be able to _function _without being bossed around by the master as he'd been for the past fifteen years.

Before Belle could assure her dressmaker that three months wouldn't be _that _long, her bedroom door opened, and in stepped her father, wearing a handsome brown tuxedo that had been tailored just for the occasion.

"Is that really my Belle?" he said, staring at his daughter in disbelief.

Belle laughed. "Yes Papa, it's me."

Her father felt his heart swell with pride, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful young woman standing before him. "I just can't believe it!" he exclaimed, "My little girl is all grown up and getting married! Your mother would have wanted to see this so badly."

"I know she's here Papa, I can feel it."

"_Bien sûr._ And I know for a fact that she wouldn't have you walking down that aisle without putting this on first." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gold locket.

"Oh papa, it's beautiful!" Belle gasped.

"It was what your mother wore on her wedding day, and now it's yours you to wear for your own."

"Oh, thank you!" she cried. She lowered her head so her father could put the necklace on, and then fixed him in a tight hug. She didn't realize until now exactly how much her Papa meant to her, not only for raising her, but for being her one true friend when she had no one else to talk to in her poor, provincial village. Out of all the people she'd be saying goodbye to for the next three months; she knew she'd miss him the most.

The door opened a second time, and a little blonde boy in a blue tuxedo walked in. "Chip!" Maurice, said as he turned away from his daughter, "My, don't you look handsome!"

"Thanks Monsieur Dupont," Chip replied shyly. Belle and Adam had appointed Mrs. Potts' son to be their ring bearer, a job he was particular excited about because it meant he got to see the vow exchange up close. "I just saw the master going downstairs with Cogsworth," he told them, "He looked _really _scared."

"He did?" said Belle. Just the thought of her dear prince being nervous was enough to make her own face flush in exhilaration. _Was his heart beating just as madly as hers right now?_

"Well if he's gone already, I guess we should be making our way down too," said Maurice, "Are you ready Belle?"

Belle tucked a strand of hair away from her face, giving herself one last look in the mirror before she put the name of Mademoiselle Belle behind her, for good. It was funny, about a year ago when Gaston had come knocking on her door she believed she would never be able to settle for the image of marriage, being known only as someone's "little wife", cooking, cleaning, and raising half a dozen children. But now, standing in her wedding gown amongst friends and family, about to be married to a prince and the man of her dreams, she felt as though this was one moment she'd been waiting for all her life.

She smiled at her father and took his hand. She was ready.

* * *

Adam tried to ignore the steady drumming in his heart as he stood at the altar, waiting for Belle to arrive. _I am marrying Belle. For the rest of my life. _The thought made him so jittery, he could hardly stand still, and Christophe, who had agreed to be Adam's best man, ended putting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Truth be told, the king had his own unease about the wedding, knowing the impressions Adam made today would determine the people would see him as king in a few years time. Once the honeymoon was over, he planned to start preparing him and Belle for the coronation straight away.

As Fife began conducting a small string ensemble in the background, the Prince allowed his eyes to wander. The ceremony was taking place outside in celebration of the beautiful spring weather. Chairs had been brought out, on which noblemen, servants and a few villagers from Molyneaux sat, and the aisle had been drawn out with a long velvet carpet with numerous rose arches for the wedding party to walk through.

Once everything was in place, Fife opened the ceremony with a stately French trio sonata. As the violins joined in with the harpsichord, Mrs. Potts's daughters began walking down the aisle, dropping flower petals on the carpet from their baskets. After the flower girls came Chip bearing the rings, Babette, Angelique and some of the other serving girls who'd volunteered to be Belle's bridesmaids, and finally, the most beautiful of all, walking in hand with her father, was Belle herself. Adam felt the air leave his chest as he gazed upon her, wondering if it were at all possible for her to look more radiant than she did now.

Belle was dressed in a simple but regal-looking ball gown, designed in a similar style to the dress she'd worn for her first dance with the Beast. Her hair had been pinned up neatly on top of her head, exposing a very slender neck, and over her veil she wore the former Queen's tiara, which was gold and studded with several gems. Adam was so entranced by her appearance that Christophe had give him a nudge to remind him to take her hand at the altar. They exchanged smiles as they both stepped forward, unable to take their eyes off one another.

"Dearly beloved," the priest began, "We are gathered here today to witness the joining of this prince and this woman in marriage; which is an honourable estate, instituted by God in heaven, and dedicated to the happiness of mankind; an estate not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, soberly, and in all sincerity."

"Prince Adam, do you take Belle Dupont to be your wife; to love and cherish, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward as long as you both shall live?"

Adam looked earnestly at his bride, thinking of how long he had been waiting for this, this moment when he would finally have the chance to repay her for all the things she had given him, a chance to live out a normal human life with her for the rest of his days. "I do," he said.

"And Belle, do you take Prince Adam to be your husband; to love and cherish, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward as long as you both shall live?"

Belle smiled and looked at her prince, her Beast, who would do anything for her, who had befriended her when no one else understood her, who had shown her that it was possible to live a life outside a storybook, "I do," she said.

Once the rings had been exchanged, the flower girls came up and gave the bride and groom each a rose.

"Your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect," said the priest, "But for your first gift as husband and wife I want you now to give each other the gift of a single rose. So please exchange your first gift as husband and wife; a gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage."

Once Belle and Adam exchanged their roses, he spoke again. "Remember, the single rose says the words: "I love you."

There may be times filled with happiness, sorrow, tears or laughter, whatever it may be, remember love has transformed you, and your journey begins today. Your majesties, if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, remember that love brought you here today, it is only love which can make your marriage a glorious union, and it is by love that your marriage will endure.

I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Adam lifted the veil from Belle's face and they both leaned in for their first kiss as newlyweds. They were together now, and nothing in the world could ever tear them apart.

* * *

In years to come, Belle and Adam would not remember all the details that made up their wedding _réception._ Everything seemed to move from one blissful detail to the next, like the ending of a perfect fairytale. Once the vows had been exchanged, everyone moved to the castle dining room where the servants had prepared an amazing banquet with dishes that included beef ragout, cheese soufflé, pie and pudding en flambé.

"In my time as King," Christophe said to start off the toasts, "I have been to many weddings. But let me just say, that I have never met a couple more special than our own Prince Adam and Princess Belle. It really warms my heart to see my nephew grow up into a handsome, caring young man, and to find an intelligent girl who loves and cares for him every bit as he loves her. I know, were Vincent standing here right now, he would be very proud of his son. And so a toast to Prince Adam and to Belle for many years of happiness."

"To Prince Adam and Princess Belle!" the guests shouted back.

"On behalf of the master's household," said Lumiere "I'd just like to thank our castle decorator, Angelique for all her exquisite designing, Babette, Mrs. Potts, Chip for their hard work, Chef Bouche for putting together an excellent feast, and Madame Armoire and Monsieur Aiguille for all their work preparing the outfits for the bride and groom. But of course none of this would be at all possible without our own majordomo, Benjamin Cogsworth!"

"Begging your pardon," Cogsworth retorted, "But I was about to say that none of this would happen without our own maitre d' Lumiere."

"Cogsworth! I am paying you a compliment old friend. There is no need to give me all the credit."

"I am _not_ being modest Lumiere! I am simply saying that this wedding would never have taken place without your _excellent service_."

"Humph. And I am saying that it would not take place without your _thorough organization!"_

"Just accept it Lumiere, you were the real leader of this wedding!"

"No, you were!"

"You were!"

"You both did a wonderful job!" Belle tried to say, but the two servants could not be moved, and continued to bicker until their next speaker came forward.

After the wedding feast, everyone moved into the ballroom where Maestro Fife gathered the musicians to play some dance suites for the afternoon. While there were several lovely couples that came out to dance, including Maurice and Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Babette, Cogsworth and Madame Armoire, it was no surprise that Belle and her prince were the main item on the floor. Neither of them could keep their eyes off one another as they glided across the room, and no one, whether from inside or outside the castle could doubt that they were deeply in love with each other.

It was during the wedding ball that the newlyweds also had time to mingle with their guests, many who had come from all over France just to see get a glimpse of the recently-returned Prince and his bride. After spending some time speaking with a Duke from Pau, Belle found a young girl, not much older than Chip looking wistfully out of one of the ballroom windows.

"Princess Belle!" the girl said with a start as she saw her reflection in the window and turned to face her.

"Bonjour _ma petite,_" Belle smiled, "What's your name?"

"I'm Valerie, your highness," the girl said with a curtsy, "My papa's the King of Berry. He says that you read Fairy Tales."

"Why yes," Belle said, "Do you read them?"

Valerie shook her head. "My tutor, Monsieur Glaisyer doesn't let me read them," she explained, "He says that they're a waste of time for a princess."

Belle was quite stunned to hear this. "Really?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "But I used to read fairy tales all the time when I was your age! I think they're wonderful stories."

"Well, what's good about them? Fairy tales can't teach you how to be a proper princess, or rule a country can they?"

"Well," Belle pondered this for a moment, "I suppose not. But you can imagine so many things with them, and they can take to so many far off places where there are fairies and trolls...,"

"What are fairies?"

Belle's expression lowered. Before she could answer her question however, a blond-haired woman walked up to the two of them, dressed in a frilly pink gown, her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a flamboyant updo.

"There you are Valerie!" she said to the girl, "I see that you've made acquaintances with the new princess," she turned to Belle, "Bonjour Princess. I'm Évelyne and this is my daughter, Valerie."

"Nice to meet you Évelyne. You're the one who was betrothed to Adam before, weren't you?"

"Ah yes, but that was quite a long time ago," she giggled, "I admit I was quite surprised. A woman of _your background_, I wasn't sure if you'd be walking to the altar dressed in peasant rags or not," she laughed, "I hope you do not find the life of the upper-class not to be too overwhelming for you."

"Oh no," said Belle, trying her best not to sound offended, "I've been taking many lessons, and King Christophe has been very good at in filling Adam and I in on the state of the province since his absence."

"Ah yes, Christophe," Évelyne laughed, "Funny man, isn't he? I would say he's done a _decent _job running the kingdom, but when it comes to propriety...well he's a bit _odd_ in the head, if you know what I'm saying. If you ever need help on being a proper Princess however, I would be more than happy to help you..."

"That's very kind of you," said Belle. "Excuse me."

"Is something wrong?" Adam asked as he read the disheartened look on Belle's face as she came towards him.

She sighed. "These noblemen here. They speak to me as though I'm...," she hated to say the word, _"Odd."_

And then she told him about the woman she had just spoken with.

Adam looked positively outraged. "How on earth could she say that?" he growled once she was finished, "I ought to have a talk with her."

"No, please Adam," Belle shook her head, "Not on our wedding day. I'm just worried. What if she's right? What if I'm not cut out to be a princess? I've been raised as a peasant all my life, how could I possibly expect to live up to every one's expectations?"

"Don't think for even a second that you're not good enough Belle," Adam said firmly, "Remember what my Uncle said? France is changing. Inventors and poets are popping up everywhere, and women like you, with your wisdom and love of books, are exactly what we need to lead the country into a new era."

"That's a very nice thing for your Uncle to say," said Belle, "But what do _you_ think Adam?"

"I married you not them," Adam replied. "And I'm not going to let the snide remarks of one aristocrat prevent my wife from enjoying her books. I still haven't forgotten how much they mean to you. And how much they mean to me."

Belle smiled. "Thank you," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Shortly after this conversation, Christophe came by to ask Belle to dance. She obliged, and Adam, seeing an open opportunity, decided to ask Mrs. Potts to dance with him.

"You know master; I've been noticing something different in you lately," she told him as they moved across the floor.

"I'm not growing fur again, am I?" he replied worryingly.

"No dear. You're happier."

"I am?"

She nodded. "I know this has been some difficult ten years for you master, but I'm just glad you made it out all right. We all are."

"Thank you Mrs. Potts."

* * *

When sunset arrived, the prince and princess waved goodbye to the royal household as they boarded the carriage that would take them to the Château d'Amboise for the evening.

"Today was wonderful," Belle said once they had passed through the front gates. She turned to Adam to see a vacant look on his face as he watched the castle disappear into the distance.

"Is everything alright?"

"What?" he blinked, "Oh, yes. It just, it feels a bit like leaving home. The castle, I mean. I know it's been my prison for ten years, but I haven't been to the other estates in so long...I almost worry I'm going to be homesick."

Belle felt a smile tug at her face. "When I was small, my mother used to tell me that home is where the heart is," she told him, "It doesn't matter where you are or where you go, because it's the people you're with and the memories you have with them that make life the most important."

Adam smiled back. Those sounded like nice words to live by. "You're my home now," he told her, placing his hand in hers.

"And you are mine."

They both knew there was no place they would rather be.

* * *

Belle and Adam arrived at the château later that evening cheerful, but considerably worn out from spending the afternoon waving to passing villagers in the towns leading to Amboise. That didn't stop them from admiring the view however, and as they soon realized, Amboise was a marvellous city. Magnificent white towers rose up to meet them as their coach ascended the hill to the castle, and in the distance the lights of the city shimmered like distant stars while the Loire river reflected the bright full moon in its shimmering waters.

At the entrance of the castle they were introduced to their 'new' maitre d'; a cheery man named Michel, who arranged for servants to unload their things before giving them a quick tour and escorting them to the old king and queen's bedchambers room for the night.

As Belle changed out of her wedding dress behind a divider in the room, Adam began to pace around the bed in half excitement, half nervousness for what was about to take place. He wanted to be bold, daring, to know without doubt that he would be the best night of her life, but he knew he couldn't fool himself. He had only know what it felt like to hold and kiss a woman for about a month, but this required a different practice entirely, one that he was completely inexperienced in. He breathed deeply as he undid his ponytail and undressed, leaving only his breeches and undergarments on. He put his shirt on and removed it several times before he decided to just leave it on but unbutton it. A lot of things could go wrong. What if he hurt her? What if he scared her? What if he _disappointed_ her?

He was so nervous; he practically jumped once Belle stepped out behind the divider. She was wearing a thin, white nightgown so low at the neckline it may have easily slipped off her shoulders, and he later realized that that was the point.

"You look wonderful," he managed.

"Thank you," she replied shyly.

He took her hand and the two of them climbed into bed. "Belle?" he began.

"Yes?"

"I just want you to know...," he ruffled his hair anxiously, "We don't have to do this right away, if you don't want to."

"No," Belle said, and to his surprise, her face also began to turn red, "I mean, I want to do this, if you do."

There was silence.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I'm just...,"

"Scared?" she finished.

"Yes, I never imagined I could do this with anyone before. Just thinking about it now..."

"I think we should try."

He gulped and forced himself to nod. "Okay. But you must promise...promise me that you'll tell me, if I'm hurting you."

"I will," she promised.

He came towards her, slid his hand across her cheek and kissed her. She quickly answered him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

Things became considerably easier from there.

* * *

Adam woke up the next morning feeling happier than he had felt in a very long time. He shifted on the mattress and realized there was a warm body pressed up against him: Belle, her brown hair falling loosely across her bare shoulders, her mouth pressed into a soft smile. The events of last night weren't a dream them. Very delicately he brushed a lock of hair away from her face and began to kiss the side of her neck.

"Adam!" she exclaimed, waking up with a start.

"Good morning, mademoiselle," he smiled, "Or should I say, _Madame Évrard_."

"You lied about last night," she smirked as she propped her elbow up on the mattress to face him, "You said you were nervous.

"A little."

"Didn't seem that way to me."

Their first night together could be summed up as being like their first dance; both were a little scared at first, but as time passed and the initial pain and anxiety passed away, everything became natural, their love manifesting itself through delicate intimacy, bliss and passion before they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, the feeling of each other's skin softer than any blanket.

Presently, Adam gave Belle a kiss on the forehead and then got up from the bed and walked to the dresser. "We should probably start getting ready," he told her as he searched for clothes, "The servants will need to replace these bed sheets, and we're supposed to be visiting with the Duke and Duchess of Amboise before noon today."

"How many of these aristocrats are we meeting with?" Belle asked curiously.

"Just a few for today, I think."

"But this is our honeymoon!" she pouted.

"Oui, _chérie._ And we are the Provincial Prince and Princess. It's our duty now. Besides, what's a meeting with a few aristocrats when you get to stay in a nice castle after?"

"It depends. How many castles are we talking about?"

"Well," he replied as he picked his shirt from the dresser and slipped it over his head, "There's the ones my family owns: Blois, Azay-le-Rideau, Chinon, Langeais...we might even be able to find some of the secret passages the servants told me about when I was a boy. It'll be..._comment dit-on? Une aventure_."

Belle smiled. She liked the sound of that. "And what about those aristocrats we have to greet?" she asked, "I'm afraid after yesterday, that I'll say the wrong thing."

"What could you possibly say that would be wrong Belle? Trust me you'll do amazing. The people will _love_ you! If there's anybody who you should be worried it's me."

"What are you worried about? You're an amazing speaker."

"DON'T say that!" He began to panic, "Without Lumiere or Cogsworth, I might lose my temper, or get angry, or..."

She sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "You'll do just fine."

Adam began to smile in spite of himself. While he was used to getting worked up about simple things, he knew that in the end that Belle was right; he shouldn't always look at things so negatively. He gently cupped her face, and returned the kiss. "I love you," he whispered to her gently.

"I love you too."

While there was still tremendous uncertainty for the months that lay ahead, he knew as well as she did that the worst was already over, and their adventure was just beginning.

With that, they both climbed out of bed, ready to begin their first new chapter as husband and wife.


	17. Réveillon

Months passed. They spent the weeks visiting one castle estate to another, moving from Amboise to Chaumont, Chaumont to Loches and Loches to Villandry. From Touraine they travelled to the other regions of France, staying in the provinces of Anjou, Maine and Orléanais. Days were spent meeting with aristocrats and heads of state, while evenings were spent dancing at royal balls or exploring old castle ruins. Nights were spent with each other, passion soon becoming a natural part of their relationship.

They spent almost a month in Paris where they stayed with the King of France and his wife at the Palace of Versailles. It was there that they visited the Seine river, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Paris Opera and the _Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal_, the latter brimming with so many books, Adam was afraid that Belle would never want to leave.

Still, despite the wonderful adventures they shared together, when Belle and Adam finally returned to _Le Château de Rose _by the end of August it was with a feeling of great relief, like returning home at the end of a very, very long journey.

Many things stayed the same, but many other things were different. Chip was starting to lose his baby teeth as he proudly showed Belle and Adam on the day of their return. Christophe began to pay regular visits to the castle to update Adam and Belle on the kingdom's latest news, as well as provide some private tutoring for his nephew. Adam came out of these lessons greatly irritated but Belle, Lumiere and Cogsworth all agreed that he and his Uncle got along quite well with each other and soon the king became family to them just as much as the castle household did.

The most surprising change of all however, came when Maurice confessed to Belle that he wished to return to Molyneaux, for as much as he enjoyed the company of the castle residents, he was beginning to miss the throng of village life he'd lived in for so long. Adam felt a bit sad to see the old man leave. He'd grown fond of Maurice in the months he'd gotten to know him, and liked how they could both act timidly around one another and still carry out meaningful conversations. They left on happy terms and he gave his father-in-law a free invitation to return to the castle whenever he wanted.

The only person who was more saddened by Maurice's departure was Belle. The morning after he left, Adam awoke to find her not in bed, and not downstairs for breakfast either. It took a few frantic questions to his servants before he found her sitting alone in the cellar that had used to be Maurice's workshop, head down, lost in thought.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern as he sat down at the barrel beside her.

Belle looked up at Adam and revealed a wrench in her hands. "He left his wrench here," she said with a bitter smile. "He always forgot something."

The Prince continued to stare at his wife as he took the tool from her. He suddenly felt troubled, recalling the last time Belle had been separated from her father and how broken she had been. "You know Belle," he said slowly, "I don't mean for this to be like the last time. You could go with him for a bit, if you wanted. I can manage on my own with _Oncle..._I."

"Don't be silly," Belle replied. She almost wanted to laugh at what he was suggesting. "Papa just loves to travel. It's who he is. He can never stay in a place for too long. My place is here, with you. I would never leave you, and you know that. I just need time to adjust, that's all."

She kissed him, and Adam, feeling relief at her decision, returned it. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Come with me," he told her. "There's something I want to show you."

Taking her hands, he led her back upstairs, past the West Wing into the adjoining room where the enchanted pipe organ used to be. "I thought this part of the castle was still under renovations?" Belle said in surprise as she examined the repaired entrance way.

"They actually finished up a few weeks before we came back from our honeymoon," he replied. "I told the servants not to tell you it was open, but..." He opened the door and beckoned her to step inside. Tall bookshelves had been placed around the walls, almost touching the ceiling.

"I don't understand," Belle said in amazement. "This looks like another library."

"That's exactly what it is. Fife doesn't need as much space now that the pipe organ's gone, so I decided to split the room and convert this half into a personal library for you. I've already had some of your favorite titles moved up here, and reckoned we could purchase some more books from that book merchant we met back in Paris. I wanted to try and keep it a surprise for your birthday, only..."

She kissed him on the cheek. "It's a wonderful present," she said with a smile. "Thank you Adam."

He smiled back, running a hand through her hair lovingly. He knew he couldn't stop Belle from missing her father, but he could take comfort in knowing this was one little way he could make her feel better about him leaving them.

* * *

"_Que l'on chante qu'on s'apprête  
__Fa la la la la, la la la la."_

On Christmas Eve that year, as villagers sung carols out in the castle grounds, Belle brushed her hair in front of her vanity mirror, feelings mixing bouts of nervousness and excitement for the celebrations she was about to take part in.

Adam had taken to a surprising bout of Christmas spirit that December, insisting that they open with the holidays with a big _réveillon._ They had spent the whole month preparing, Adam showing so much enthusiasm that he had even invited people from the nearby villages to come to the castle and join them. It touched Belle's heart not only to see her husband warming up to the season, but to see it making him so happy, too.

Presently her husband came around her, kissing her on the cheek before placing a pearl necklace around her neck.

"Adam please!" Belle exclaimed as she touched the jewelry. "You don't have to get all this for me!"

"What, it's Christmas!" he retorted. "Am I not allowed to give something special to my wife who is going to be turning heads in that beautiful red dress of hers?"

"Well of course not," Belle replied with a smile, "But then, there won't be anything left to give me for Christmas day!"

"Oh, but this is only the beginning," Adam said as Belle stood up to tie his cravat. "I have _tons_ more things to give you tomorrow. Just you wait."

"You know I don't need much. A simple book would do just fine."

"Not for my wife. Besides, I still owe you from last year."

"There was nothing wrong with last year! The Christmas party was everything I wanted and more! But while we're on the subject of gift giving," she pointed to a wrapped present that had been lying out on her dresser, "Do you think it would be a good idea to give Chip his present now?"

"Maybe," Adam replied as he picked up the gift. "Mrs. Potts could have something to keep Chip under control tonight so Cogsworth doesn't end up having a heart attack_."_

Belle laughed at that. Chip had been getting into a great deal of trouble around the castle lately, so much in fact that her husband had ended up taking him out him to pick a tree for the ballroom so the servants could spend a day decorating the castle without worrying about him. It hadn't been that long ago when Adam had been the only child in the castle, and he felt that he could relate to the boy's restlessness in a few ways. He almost saw him as being like a little brother in some ways.

As Adam tucked Chip's present into his jacket pocket, Belle happened to notice that he had another slender, white box tucked inside his other pocket. Before she could ask about it, there was a knock on the door.

"Your highnesses," their servant boy said, "Lumiere says that most of the guests have arrived already. Perhaps you should think about making your way downstairs?"

"Thank you, James, we shall be there at once." Adam replied. "Are you ready _mon amour_?"

"Of course," Belle replied, taking his arm.

They knew without a doubt that tonight was going to be a wonderful evening.

* * *

"A present? Oh boy, thank you!" Chip exclaimed as he took the present from Adam. He ripped it open to find a beautiful hardcover book inside. "Look, Mama, a storybook! Will you read it to me?"

Mrs. Potts smiled and pat him on the head. "I'd love to son."

"Oh boy!"

As he ran to the fireplace to read his new book with his mother, Adam and Belle walked arm in arm to the back of the ballroom where the orchestra had been set up. Belle could appreciate the work the servants had done with the Christmas decorations. A huge tree had been placed at the center of the ballroom while the tables and mantelpiece were covered in holy and mistletoe. Only a few servants would recognize that the ornaments Angelique had chosen to put on the tree were in fact wooden cutouts of the household as enchanted objects.

"Maestro?" said Adam.

"Yes master?" said Fife.

"Would you do us the honor old friend?"

"I'd be delighted!"

With that, the court composer put his flute to his lips, opening the music for the night. Adam danced with his wife for a bit before they went off to mingle with their other guests. He danced with a couple of skittish servant girls, and some more than enthusiastic women from Belle's village before he excused himself to get some refreshments.

"_Incroyable! _You've done a wonderful job tonight," Christophe said as he a put a hand on his shoulder, having crossed paths with him at the punch bowl.

"_Joyeux Noël_, Oncle. I'm glad you could make it."

"Of course, of course!" he chuckled, "You know your father met your mother at a réveillon just like this one. He turned down all your grandparents' suitors. We thought he'd never get married, but then he saw your mother and boom, _c'était le coup_ _de foudre!_ I practically had to push him to dance with her," he laughed at the memory. "Ah, it's been a tough year _neveu, _but I think you're ready."

"Ready for what?" he asked, puzzled.

"To be king, of course."

"King? But Oncle, Belle and I haven't even been managing the kingdom for a year yet!"

"Not to worry my boy," Christophe smiled. "Touraine has been in long in need of a young couple to be its rulers, and you and Belle have certainly been nothing but talk amongst the province, with that wonderful spark the two of you have. We'll discuss preparations in a few months perhaps? For now, _Joyeux Noël!"_

Later that night, Adam took Belle out to the balcony and presented her with the white box he'd been hiding under his jacket. The inside of it contained a single red rose. She smiled as her gaze travelled from the gift to her husband, his blue eyes every bit the same as when he was the Beast. Together, they gazed out over the starry December sky, thinking of each other and the New Year ahead of them.

* * *

That night, Belle placed the rose in a porcelain vase in their room before changing out of her Christmas dress and into her white negligee.

"Thank you for today Adam," she said as she put her dress away in her wardrobe, "It was wonderful, seeing all those people smiling."

"I liked seeing you smile," Adam replied. He suddenly looked up as he noticed a green plant dangling from the ceiling, just above where he was standing. "Mistletoe," he said, with a grin.

"Hmm?" Belle looked at it thoughtfully, "I wonder how that got there? Maybe the servants were having a bit of fun."

"Well you know what it means right?" he teased, "You have to kiss me now."

"_Un baiser?"_ she raised an eyebrow. "_Oh non_, I know where this is going."

"What?" he said, trying his best to look innocent. "It's just a kiss, Belle."

"Yes, and kisses have resulted in different things with you lately," she said, pointing an accusatory finger. "Don't forget the other day when Cogsworth walked in on us while we were in the library…,"

"That was _only one time! _And as I remember, you were the one who took my jacket off first."

"We were reading _Tristan et Iseult_ and you wouldn't stop talking! It was driving me crazy."

"I was talking about the book, and you were enjoying it," he said, "Besides, Cogsworth is on the other side of the castle now. And we are in our rooms this time not the library."

"But it's _cold_ in here," she complained.

"It won't be for long."

"But - ,"

She never got to finish her sentence for the next moment he kissed her. All sense left her completely. There was something very empowering about Adam's kisses, maybe because love was still a new thing to him, maybe because he'd never been intimate with anyone before the curse, but he never failed to leave her feeling exhilarated after, exhilarated and hungry for more. The next minute she found herself unbuttoning his shirt as he lifted her up and carried her bridal style back to their bed.

"_Joyeux Noël, Belle." _he said as he set her down on the mattress.

"_Joyeux Noël,_ Adam," she smiled. "I love you."

He lay down beside her and drew the curtains over the rose, leaving the night completely to themselves.


	18. Malade

February of that year came with a merciless torrent of snow. It was so bad outside that Belle had to call off her promise to Chip to take him out skating, and the servants had to madly shuffle from room to room, ensuring that as many fireplaces were lit as possible. Adam, who was now learning English, ended up opening a window in a fit of rage during one of his lessons, quickly regretting it because the blasting wind made it impossible to shut after. He came to dinner soaking wet, and was in a significantly bad mood for the rest of the evening.

On a blustery Monday morning, Belle and her husband could be seen quarrelling in their bedroom as they prepared for the day ahead of them.

"Get rid of it!" Adam was shouting as he pointed at the garment his wife was holding in her arms.

"I will not!" his wife shouted back.

"Belle, _amour_ be reasonable. There is absolutely no reason why you need to keep wearing that old peasant's dress!"

"It's _my_ dress!" she said, glaring at him. "Why shouldn't I be allowed to wear it?"

"Because you're my _wife,_ that's why!" he retorted. "People will think I'm mistreating you if they see I'm letting you walk around the castle dressed like a common peasant!"

Belle scowled. Maybe she could see some sense in her husband sending those guards to her room to protect her from Avenant a year ago, but this was completely and utterly ridiculous. She was about to explain to Adam that clothes shouldn't make a difference to what constituted a princess when there was a knock at the door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, your majesties," said Cogsworth, "But the ambassador has just arrived, and the King is waiting to meet with you."

Adam nodded agitatedly. "Tell him I'm on my way, and get the ambassador something to eat while you're at it," he told him quickly. "He's come this far in a blizzard; the least we can offer him is our hospitality."

"Of course master."

"And," he continued, snatching the blue pinafore dress from Belle's hands and throwing it at the majordomo's head, "Get this to the laundry for me please."

"What?!" Belle exclaimed.

"You may keep...that old dress," he said with a grimace. "But only on the condition that you don't wear it when we have guests over."

"Well _of course_ I'm not going to wear it when we have guests over!" she exclaimed. She would _never_ do that in front of him!

"Thank you," he said, giving her a sharp kiss, "And I'm sorry...I just -"

"- I know," she said.

"Tomorrow, assuming this weather clears we'll be on our way to Paris."

"I know."

"You're sure you don't want to listen in on this meeting?"

"No, I'll be alright staying here," she said reassuringly. "Besides, you and Christophe will do fine without me."

"You sure?" He was a bit concerned. Normally, Belle was so robust and eager to meet their guests and learn about the goings on in the country, but lately she seemed so quiet and unfocused. He just hoped that nothing was wrong with her…

"Yes I'm sure," she repeated. "Now hurry up!"

Once her husband had left, Belle threw herself down on the mattress and sighed. She felt bad. She knew this meeting was important to Adam, so why was she snapping at him so much all of a sudden? She had no reason to be angry, he had done nothing wrong; it was just that things had been so _strange_ lately. Even now, she could feel the world spinning around her as she closed her eyes. She felt as though she were on a ship, a ship that was threatening to tip overboard at any moment.

"Everything alright dear?" a voice asked suddenly. Belle opened her eyes again to see Madame Armoire walking into her room carrying her dress for the day. She quickly moved a lock of hair away from her face and forced herself to sit up.

"Oh, yes," she said. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

"This weather's been affecting everybody," Madame Armoire agreed, "I've got a case of the sniffles myself."

Belle nodded. Maybe that was it, she was a little sick. Living with so many people, she was bound to pick up a bug of sorts. That was nothing to worry about, right?

Madame Armoire guided Belle over to her mirror and helped her into her dress. Normally this was an activity the Princess would do herself, but today she felt so tired she didn't mind the extra help. As Madame helped Belle into her corsets she proceeded to tell her about her argument with Adam and how she found it unfair that he wanted her to get rid of her old dress just because she was a princess.

"He wouldn't have even seen it if he hadn't opened my wardrobe," she told her. "I love him, but sometimes he can be so difficult."

"Well that's men for you honey," said Madame Armoire, "I know they can be so overbearing sometimes. But I'm sure things will settle down once the meeting's over. Talking about the revolution, it's a nasty business."

Just then, Mrs. Potts came into the room carrying her usual tray of morning tea. "How are you been feeling today dear?" she asked Belle as she studied her face.

"Hello Mrs. Potts," Belle smiled, "Nothing terrible, I just feel...sore and dizzy."

Mrs. Potts gave the princess a quick looking over and then checked her forehead for a temperature. "I'll make some soup for you," she said finally. "And maybe get the physician to take a look at you. Perhaps you might be -"

"No!" Belle exclaimed. "I mean...I'm sure I'll be alright." If their physician pronounced her ill, she would miss her chance to go to Paris with Adam. They'd been looking forward to the trip since November; she couldn't miss out on it now!

"Very well my dear," said Mrs. Potts. "But as I tell my children, rest is the only way you can get better. And if you're not feeling better by tomorrow, you really should think of staying behind."

At that moment, Belle felt her stomach begin to lurch unpleasantly. "Excuse me," she said before she dashed off to the bathroom.

* * *

Adam was in a considerably bad mood at lunch. The ambassador had told him exactly what he _didn't_ want to hear: the King of France had decided to go through with his plan to sign an alliance treaty with the Americans.

"This treaty is ridiculous," he was saying to his Uncle. "We've been fine not getting involved with this revolution up until now. Once the British hear about the alliance they'll have every reason to declare war on us and then everything will be lost! We should be focusing on restoring our country's agriculture system, not sending our best men to fight in this war!"

"I understand your concerns _neveu_," said Christophe, "But a bit of lost crops is nothing compared to the loss of our settlements. Think of the other option. If the Americans put down a truce with the English, our colonies will be the first to be attacked. Yes I agree that this is a risky move and will exhaust a fair bit of our resources, but we'll just have to endure it for the sake of our colonies. Survival of our people is vital at a time such as this."

"What do you think Belle?" Adam asked as he turned to his wife. "Belle?"

"Huh?" Belle looked up with a start. Her eyes had been focused on her soup, which she hadn't touched since the beginning of the meal. She hadn't told Adam she'd thrown up earlier, only because she felt it wasn't the place to talk about at the dining table.

"What do you think about this alliance treaty?" her husband repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. He admitted he was worried; normally Belle was very intrigued by the revolution, but she seemed strangely quiet today. Just another reason to why he believed something wasn't quite right about her.

"I agree...with Christophe," she said slowly. "I don't like the idea of going to war, but I agree it's necessary for the colonies." She looked down at her soup again and proceeded to stir it with her spoon for the rest of the lunch.

Once the meal was over and Christophe had gone up to his bureau, Adam gently put his hand over Belle's shoulder. "So...what do you want to do today?" he asked her softly.

Belle shrugged. "I don't know," she said, "Read something...I guess."

"Come on then, let's go to the library."

Once there, Belle sat down in her usual armchair by the fireplace while Adam moved over to the shelves to pick out a book. If there was anything that could cheer his wife up, it was a good fairytale.

"What story today?" he asked her.

"Well, there's that one you gave me for Christmas," she said, "_Raiponce_,"

Adam skimmed the bookshelf for a moment until he found a hardcover book with the title _Raiponce_ engraved in gold on the front. "Found it!" he exclaimed. He moved over to hand it to Belle, but she pushed it back to him.

"Why don't you read it to me?" she asked instead. "It's been a while since I've heard you read."

Adam looked a bit surprised but saw no reason to argue with her. After all, he was a lot better at reading now than he was a year ago. All that textbook reading he'd been doing for the past year had made sure of that. "Alright then," he said. He sat down and cleared his throat. _"Je veux raconter l'histoire de mon mort...,"_

He'd no sooner got to the part where Flynn Rider had been knocked unconscious with Rapunzel's frying pan, when he looked up to see Belle sound asleep in the armchair across from him.

"Belle?" he said, giving her a sharp nudge, "_Chérie,_ are you alright!"

Her eyes snapped open, and her face flushed red. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. She hadn't actually fallen asleep, had she?

"Belle you know I'm starting to think that we should hold off our trip to Paris," Adam said as he bit his lip. "I mean, look at you. You've been this way all week. I'm starting to get worried."

"I'm _fine_ Adam!" Belle snapped. Did everyone think something was wrong with her all of sudden? She was just a bit sick, that was all. It happened to everyone! She snatched the book away from his hand angrily. "Here, let me find something else for us to read."

The minute she got out of the chair she knew something was wrong. The world seemed to sway around her as she staggered to the bookshelf…which part was the book supposed to go on? The letters were everywhere, she couldn't process them all!

"Belle!" she heard Adam call distantly. It was the last thing she heard before the floor rose up to meet her and her world went black.

* * *

Adam hadn't been this scared in a long time. He'd remembered Belle had fainted during a blizzard once when he was still a Beast, but then she'd been lucky - he'd found her and got her to the castle just in time. But this was _completely_ out of his hands. As he paced outside the West Wing waiting to hear from the doctor and Mrs. Potts the worst scenarios played in his head. Was it something she ate maybe? That sleigh ride they'd gone on?

"Maybe it was that new chef we hired," Lumiere whispered to Cogsworth from behind him. At this, the Prince felt his whole body tense up. If Avenant or some other servant had managed to poison Belle without him knowing, he would never forgive himself. He practically jumped when the door finally opened. Out stepped Monsieur Guérisseur, their portly castle physician who had been turned into a medicine bottle during the enchantment.

"What's going on?" Adam asked him frantically. "Is it food poisoning?"

"She's perfectly healthy, your highness," the doctor replied calmly. "You may go see her."

The Prince immediately ran inside, unable to be apart from his beloved a minute longer.

"Adam!" Belle called out from her bed once she saw her husband.

"Belle!" Adam said as he took her hands, "Don't ever scare me like that again! What happened?"

"It's a perfectly natural condition your highness," said M. Guérisseur.

"She threw up this morning too," added Mrs. Potts.

"Well what is it?" said Adam. He felt like he was about to have a heart attack from all the suspense circling him and his wife right now.

"I'm with child, Adam," Belle said simply.

At that, Adam's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "A...child?" he repeated.

"Yes. I have all the symptoms, and I haven't bled since Christmas."

For a moment he was unable to say a word. "So you're – ?"

"Yes."

"And we're –?"

"Yes."

Belle had never seen Adam go through so many facial expressions in so short a time. She knew this day would come eventually of course. Every royal family needed an heir, as Christophe had been telling them over and over. Even Mrs. Potts and some of the other servants had been expressing an interest in a new child running around the castle after Chip. They just never expected it would come so _quickly…_

It took a moment, but finally the words sunk in for Adam. A baby. A family. A legacy. They were going to be parents! "Belle, this is wonderful!" he laughed.

He hugged her tightly and Belle hugged him back. Suddenly the world outside didn't seem so very cold anymore.


	19. Enceinte

The news of Belle's pregnancy was kept within the castle's inner circle for the next couple months. As Mrs. Potts explained to Belle and Adam there were a lot of things that could happen to the baby during this time, and the last thing they wanted was to announce they were expecting to the rest of the castle only to lose the baby a couple of months later. Considering how slim Belle was, Mrs. Potts' main focus was to ensure she was eating enough to keep the child healthy, and so she proceeded to give her extra servings during meals, including helpings of carrots, eggs and oatmeal. By the time the snow began to melt, a small but prominent bump was starting to protrude from Belle's stomach and they finally agreed it was time to tell the rest of the castle that they were expecting a child.

Christophe was delighted to hear the news of the royal couple's new arrival. It had been a while since Touraine had had any good stories to discuss since France had been pulled into the revolutionary war, and upon hearing the news he went into a long speech about how they needed an heir to replenish the Évrard bloodline and lead the country into a new century. Adam wasn't thinking about however. All he could think about was this little life he had made with Belle. He loved to run his hands over her stomach and kiss it with every chance he got, knowing this was really their own little person they were bringing into the world. It was a completely different joy than anything he had experienced since becoming human, and even though he didn't even know what the gender was or what he even looked like yet, he knew without a doubt that he would protect him with his life.

Belle's pregnancy was much more arduous for the kitchen staff however. Entering her second trimester the princess was becoming significantly pickier with her cravings, and Mrs. Potts had gone mad in her effort to make sure all her meals were to absolute perfection.

"Mama, where do babies come from?" Chip asked his mother one day as she was busy chopping up carrots in the kitchen.

"Now Chip," Mrs. Potts replied, "I don't have time to talk right now. If I don't boil these at the right temperature the mistress won't eat them."

"But mama - ,"

"Not now Chip!"

Chip pouted, but left the room, deciding that it was best to leave his mama to her work. He _really _didn't understand adults sometimes. Why was it okay for Belle to demand for certain foods from the kitchen when she was hungry, but it wasn't okay for the master? Nobody seemed to want to tell him. It was always that he wasn't old enough, or that they were too busy. What if he _never _found the answer?

Since his mother didn't seem to want him in the kitchen Chip decided to go for a walk. Maybe he could find Sultan and play ball with him until dinnertime. He was just passing through the hallway on the third floor when heard Belle's voice coming from one of the spare bedchambers on the right side. Curious to know what was going on, he peered through the doorway to see her, the master and M. Dupont standing around a wooden contraption of sorts. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it kind of looked like a cross between a cage and a table.

"Bonjour Chip," Belle said with a smile as she noticed him standing in the doorway. Now that the morning sickness from her first trimester had subsided she was in significantly better mood than she'd been a month ago; although she was getting annoyed with how insistent Adam was that she go to bed early every night so she wouldn't exert herself. She was a_ person, _not a delicate piece of glassware that could shatter at any moment.

"Hi Belle, hi master," Chip replied, "What's that?"

"This Chip, is called a crib," Adam explained. "It's for the baby when he goes to sleep."

"He'll sleep in that?"

"Indeed he will. Belle's father and I built it right from scratch," the Prince said proudly as he tapped the railing. "And we did a pretty good job, didn't we?" He shared a smile with Maurice.

Chip felt excited. Belle and the master were certainly in a better mood about the baby than his mama was. Maybe they could answer his question about where babies came from! He started to ask them, but to his disappointment they only laughed at him.

"Oh, maybe when you're older Chip," said Adam.

"Aw," he frowned, "But my mama always says that! What if I keep getting older and still no one tells me?"

"Trust me little fella, you'll know soon enough," Maurice replied as he ruffled his hair.

"Just don't grow up too fast Chip," Belle added. "You're the youngest person in the castle right now, so you'll be the perfect person to play with the baby and keep him company when he gets older."

"You mean like a playmate?"

"Of course! The baby's going to need someone to teach him how to play games when he gets bigger after all," said Adam.

Chip smiled at the prospect. A new friend to play games and go exploring with, what more could he ask for? But then he thought of something else and his face fell again. "What if it's a girl?"

"A girl?" the Prince repeated, feigning shock, "Well then you'll just have to teach her how to fight and not be a_ poule mouillée_ now, won't you?" With that he lifted Chip up and tossed him on his shoulders. Belle smiled as she watched them both laugh and run out of the room into the hallway.

"Adam is so excited papa," she told her father, "Just think, in a year, that might be us with our own little baby."

"Becoming a parent is quite an unforgettable experience," Maurice agreed. "I still haven't forgotten how excited I was when your mother was carrying you. Suddenly you come to look at life in a completely different way."

"I've already feel like I've changed so much in this past year papa. To know we're going to be parents, I just feel so thrilled. I only wish maman was here."

"I know she would be very happy and proud of you," Maurice said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "As am I. You've always wanted adventure, well this is going to be one of the biggest adventures of your life. So be happy and enjoy it."

* * *

That night Belle awoke in the West Wing in a panic. Something was wrong. Instinctively her hand went to her stomach but the baby seemed fine, if not kicking a little more than usual. So then what was the matter? She turned her head to see that Adam was missing from bed. She frowned. It was not like him to be awake this late. She forced herself to sit up and turned her head to see him looking out over the balcony, lost in thought.

"You can't sleep?" she asked once she had managed to push herself off the bed towards him.

"I'm just thinking," he replied.

"You're not nervous about the coronation, are you?" Since Christophe's last visit he'd been nothing but stressing about everything he was meant to remember before the big crowning ceremony. Sometimes Belle wondered if her husband was in need of more sleep than she was.

"How could I be afraid for something like that?" he told her. "It's in my blood; I knew I would have to take over from my Uncle sooner or later. It's just...," he sighed. "I just can't believe...that I'm going to be a father."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. You seemed fine earlier today when you were playing with Chip. I thought you were looking forward to it."

"Oh no, it's not that I don't want to have this baby. I'm overjoyed that this is happening to us, truly," he assured her. "I guess I'm just a bit worried. I barely remember what my own father was like, despite the stories my Uncle has told me. And you know me; I throw tantrums, I get angry. How do I know I'm going to be a good father, with those kinds of qualities?"

"You'll be a fine father Adam," Belle said warmly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "It's normal to feel this way. If it makes you any better, I'm scared too."

"You scared?" Adam said in disbelief as he turned to face her. "Belle, you are going to be an _amazing_ mother. You'll be the one reading him storybooks, showing him how to feed birds and making snowballs with him every winter. A very large part of me is hoping we'll have a little girl who will be every bit as beautiful and smart as you are."

"That's very kind," Belle smiled. "But you know, they often say that girls who grow up without mothers often don't produce good daughters. I read that in a book at the library once."

"I should have that book burned then because that's nonsense," her husband replied. "Here, how about we look at it this way instead? We'll both learn to raise the baby together, and the household will be there to help us. Your father, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogsworth, they'll all be there to give us their support. Like that saying, it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a household to raise a baby...,"

Belle laughed. "Or maybe we should just admit neither of us really know anything about being parents to know what exactly we're getting into, but we're going to try our best anyways."

"Well, that too."

She kissed him and they were silent for a moment. "You know what I just realized?" she said finally.

"What?"

"Well today is April the third. In three days it will be your birthday, which means..."

"It's almost been a whole year since the enchantment," Adam suddenly looked shocked. "So much has gone on, I almost forgot."

"Do you regret anything?"

He turned to her. "Nothing at all."

Looking into his wife's eyes now, he was unable to believe exactly how lucky the two of them were to come this far. They had had their share of rocky moments following the transformation, but the amount of good things between them definitely outweighed the bad. He couldn't bear to think of what would have happened if Belle hadn't returned to the castle in time that night, if his marriage proclamation hadn't been annulled or if Avenant had his way with them back in the village a year ago. After all those hard knots they'd untangled in their relationship, words could not describe how happy he was to know that they were finally going to have a normal life together with a son or daughter of their own. It was a future he once thought was impossible, now it was the best thing that could have ever happened to him.

"Will you come back to bed now?" Belle said to him after they had stayed together holding hands for a while, "I don't think the baby likes it when you leave, he seems to kick more."

"Hey _petit_," Adam said as he bent down to speak to Belle's tummy, "Take an easy on your _maman_ okay? She has to sleep too you know."

He kissed her stomach and then escorted his wife back to bed. Only five more months. He could hardly wait.

* * *

"I am going to KILL him!" the young woman screamed.

The birthing was beyond any pain she had ever experienced before. Her voice grew hoarse from screaming. It wasn't until the midwife finally had taken the bawling infant away to the washbasin that she could finally breathe as she leaned her head back against the pillows.

"Felicie?" her sister called as she stuck her head through the doorway, "Avenant is here to see you."

"Well about time!" the young woman croaked, "Get him in here, NOW!"

A minute later Adelaide returned with Avenant who was completely out of breath as he approached the young woman at the side of the bed.

"Felicie,_ amour_," he said nervously. She certainly wasn't that same barmaid he'd met at the local tavern last summer. Her face was flushed from the labor, her auburn hair strewn in frizzy waves around her face. And she was a lot _bigger_ too for obvious reasons.

"Avenant, it's about time you showed your face in here," she snapped at him angrily, "Look what you did!"

She pointed to where the midwife was washing the baby. Avenant looked at him and then back at her with wide eyes as though he were unable to believe that something like this was possible. "It was only one night," he said quietly, "Or two. Or three."

"_Arrête tes conneries_, it was YOU!" she snapped, "And I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense about needing to go out there to plot revenge on your brother's death. This child is on your hands just as much as mine. And before you even_ think_ of leaving me again don't forget that I still have the letters you were trying to send to your friend LeFou to get that prince from Touraine assassinated. Won't that be a nice thing for them to get their hands on seeing as you've already been exiled from the province once already."

"So you were the one who took those letters!" he said as he turned back to her, "I thought you were with me!"

"No my dear," she smiled, "I was trying to help you not get arrested. You were walking straight into the guillotine. Ask yourself is it worth losing your life just to avenge one person's death?"

"I have my family's name to redeem," he said as he crossed his arms, "And if you're not going to help me -"

"You have a child now, how much will he remember of his family name when you're _dead?"_ she shouted back, "Please, forget this pointless scheme and stay here with me, where it's safer."

"You know I can't do that Felicie. I made a promise -,"

"It's a boy," the midwife said suddenly as she handed Avenant a pile of swaddling blankets. Avenant looked down to see that the baby had thick jet black hair and a small cleft in his chin, just like Gaston did once.

And for a moment, he was at a complete loss for words.


	20. Histoire Éternelle

On a chilly evening in late September, Belle's water broke while walking back with Adam from the library, and he ended up rushing her to the closest bedchamber to make a delivery.

As Mrs. Potts, Madame Armoire and Babette stayed with the princess to ensure she had everything she needed to be comfortable, Adam waited anxiously outside with Lumiere, Cogsworth, Maurice and Christophe, pacing up and down the hallway as though his life depended on it.

"Master," Lumiere said to him, "Perhaps you should sit down. You're going to wear a hole in the floor with all that pacing."

"How can I sit down?" the Prince replied fretfully. "Belle is in pain." He practically jumped as he heard her cry out from inside the room. The baby was a few days early - what if something went wrong? What if Belle ended up getting sick or dying in childbirth the same way her own mother had?

"Don't worry master," Lumiere continued as though he could hear his thoughts. "Belle will be fine. She has Mrs. Potts looking after her remember? She's delivered lots of babies in the castle and none of them have gone wrong yet."

"But _why_ is it taking so long?!"

"Well, most babies take half a day to be delivered," Cogsworth pointed out. "Belle might be in there for another ten hours at least. Mrs. Potts herself was in labor for twenty when she had her twins."

_Twenty hours? _The Prince thought that waiting _two_ hours was unbearable enough but _twenty?_ He sank his hands in his face and groaned. Christophe, who was watching his reaction, let out a chuckle.

"I remember when Adam was born, Vincent was very much the same," he said, trying to lighten up the mood. "We were just about ready to tie him up over in the East wing, he was just so worried about Catherine. And when he came to see you after _neveu_, he was so scared that he was going to break you, he wouldn't even let himself _touch _you at first."

"Ah yes, Vincent was a good king, and loved his family very much," Lumiere said fondly, "He just wasn't the same after Catherine passed away."

Adam ignored them and proceeded to walk another round up and down the hallway. He could hardly care about what his father had been like during his own delivery. Nobody seemed to understand that that it was _his _wife who was crying out in pain in there, and he couldn't do anything to help her!

Another hour passed and then another. Close to midnight the Prince started yawning and begrudgingly accepted Lumiere offer to take his chair so he could sit down and rest for a bit. The next thing he remember hearing was a high-pitched wailing sound, and then he opened his eyes to see Babette standing outside the door with her white bonnet askew on her head.

"Master," she said to him breathlessly, "Ze baby is here."

* * *

Belle felt utterly exhausted as she lay against the pillows, sweat still dripping from her face from the delivery. It was safe to say that the birthing was not at all as easy as it seemed in the fairy tales. It was long and tiring and the pain itself was unbearable and something she hoped she would never have to experience again. Still, she forced herself to smile as Adam walked over to the bed to see her.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied weakly. "It hurt _a lot_, but it was worth it just to see the baby's face."

"Here we are," Mrs. Potts said as she came around the bed to hand Adam a warm, swaddling blanket. "You two have a beautiful, healthy baby boy."

_A boy? _Adam was surprised. In his mind, he had always imagined they would have a daughter, a Belle in miniature with all the intelligence and grace of her mother. He had imagined walking into the parlor to see two pairs of doe brown eyes looking up at him from the hearth, a mother and daughter reading their favorite storybook together. But a _son? _

When it really came down to it, he had never seen a more beautiful face. Mrs. Potts showed him how to support the baby, putting one arm under his back and bending his left arm so the baby's head could rest on the crook of his elbow. He had a tuft of brown hair, a squishy nose, pouty lips, dark blue eyes and barely came up to the length of his arm he was so tiny.

"Belle, look at him!" he said after taking him in for a long moment.

"He's so handsome," Belle smiled. "Just like his papa."

They spent several minutes admiring their new baby before Maurice, Lumiere, Cogsworth and Christophe entered the room, unable to wait a moment longer to see the prince and princess's firstborn child.

"Oh, what a lovely little boy," Lumiere was the first to say.

"What are you going to name him?" asked Maurice.

"Well," said Cogsworth, "It is the tradition in the master's household that the father be the one to name the firstborn."

"Adam darling?"

"Huh?" Adam looked up, confused. He had almost forgotten that there were other people in the room with him; he could not take his eyes off his baby. "My father's name was Vincent."

"No master!" Lumiere chuckled. "What are you going to name your _son?_"

"I like Vincent," said Belle. "It means to conquer, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Christophe nodded. "And what a fitting name considering that the both of you have conquered so much in your first year as prince and princess."

"Well, Vincent it is then!" said Adam. If Belle liked that name, then so did he. Maybe it would be in good respect to his father in a way.

"Ahem," Cogsworth said, clearing, his throat. "You know he needs _at least _four more names to send off on the official royal documents, yes?"

* * *

After the delivery, Belle fell asleep almost immediately, but Adam was wide-awake. All he could think about was that little life -_ his_ Vincent, lying in the crib just a few feet away from them. He only remembered one other time when he had felt this excited and that had been over a year ago, when the spell had first been broken.

_The Prince could barely sleep that first night after the enchantment. Being human had awakened so many sensations in him; every time he moved he was aware of how his hands felt against the bed sheets or the way his hair rubbed against his neck. And it was all thanks to one person: _Belle.

_Just thinking about her now was enough to make his heart pump loudly inside his chest. He never thought it would ever work, that someone as beautiful as her could ever learn to love a monster like him. Even now he was half-afraid that something bad would happen when he fell asleep, that he'd wake up to discover that the curse breaking was all a dream and Belle had never existed._

_After lying like this for several hours, he decided that he simply couldn't sleep tonight; his newly transformed __body __wouldn't allow it. He sat up and winced slightly as his bare feet touched the cold marble floor. Where would he go? The kitchens? The gardens? The library?_

_It felt disorienting, walking through the castle corridors. It wasn't just the fact that everything looked so bright, it was that everything seemed so much _bigger_. He supposed losing a foot in height was largely a factor, but still, it felt a bit bizarre, knowing that things were going to look this way from now on. When he finally reached the entrance to the library, he was surprised to see that someone was already in there: Belle sitting curled up on her favorite armchair, dressed in a white nightgown, reading a book._

"_Hello," he said to her in surprise._

_Belle looked up at him, startled. "Oh, hello."_

"_Can't sleep?" _

"_Oh no," she blushed. "I just wanted to do a bit of reading. I'll go now."_

"_Wait, you don't have to do that! What are you reading anyway?" He took a few steps forward to read the cover of the book she was holding, surprised to see that it was a political history textbook. "I didn't know you were into French politics."_

"_I'm not."_

"_Then...why are you reading it?"_

"_I just," she brushed a stray hair away from her face. "I'm sorry, it feels silly, but I just don't know anything about you. I've only known you were a prince for a few hours, I don't know anything about your heritage or who your parents are."_

_Th__e __Prince __raised an eyebrow__.__ Now he understood why she was at the library this late. "You don't have to worry about that Belle," he assured her. "I was a bad Prince and I got what was coming to me. Anything else that happened before then, well it's not important now. I'm still me. I'm still your beast."_

"_But you weren't always called Beast," she refuted. "You must at least have a name. Do I call you your majesty now, or - ?"_

"_No!" he __exclaimed, __wincing at the thought of her addressing him by such a formal title._

"_Then what should I call you?"_

_The Prince ruffled his hair back hesitan__tly__. He did have a name of course, but it had been so _long _since he'd last been called by it, he wasn't sure he was _ready _to use it again. But __he knew it was only fair__. He'd kept the secret of the spell from her__ for this long__; she had a right to know that much about __him__. "It's Adam," he said._

"_Adam?" she repeated._

"_Yes__," he replied. "__But, uh, you don't have to call me that if you don't want to."_

"_No, it's your name, Adam__. __I _want _to use it."_

_There was a moment of quiet understanding between them. "Here, how about we read another book?" the Prince suggested as he sat down beside her and closed the textbook. "One that isn't, uh, a history textbook?"_

"_What do you have in mind?"_

"_Well, there's the one we never finished. _Le Morte d'Arthur."

_She smiled. "Sure."_

_He decided to be a gentleman and get the book for her since he could stand on the ladder now without it collapsing under his weight. Together they cuddled up on the couch and read the rest of the book until the early hours of the morning when they both fell asleep in each other's arms. The Prince woke up some time later to find Belle curled up against his chest, and took a moment to run a hand through her soft brown hair and kiss the top of her forehead before snuggling closer to her. Here with the woman he loved, the girl he had waited for ten years for tucked in his arms, this was where he belonged._

That morning, Adam realized for the first time in ten years that he had someone to live for, someone to protect and love for the rest of his life. Now, it amazed him to know that he had someone else to add to that list; his son Vincent. Presently, he walked over to the crib he had made with Maurice to see his little boy blinking up at him curiously, wearing a white dressing gown under his blue blanket. Belle had wanted to put a bonnet on him too, but Adam had refused. No son of his was going to wear a lacy feminine-looking bonnet if he had anything to say about it.

"Hey Vincent," he said to him, "I'm your papa."

Vincent immediately started to cry in response, causing Adam to jump back in surprise. _"He's going to wake up Belle! What do I do?" _he panicked. All he could remember from Mrs. Potts was that babies cried when they were either cold or hungry. He quickly picked up his son and wrapped him tightly in his blanket, hoping it was the first scenario.

"Shh," he said as he looked back at the bed to ensure Belle was still asleep. "It's alright _petit, _it's alright. You've got some powerful lungs don't you? Just like your papa?"

At the sound of his father's voice, Vincent stopped crying and stared up at him curiously. "There you go," he smiled. "Feeling better now?" He still felt a bit worried that he would start making noise again, so he decided to take him out to the balcony to give him some fresh air.

"_Regarde," _he said as he pointed to the sunrise. The sky was red and pink in the sunrise, and a fine mist was creeping in the forest. Soon all the leaves would be gone, and winter would be here again. "Maybe when you're older I'll take you out riding and we can watch the sunrise from my favorite part of the forest," he said to him. "I'll teach you how to take care of your horse, how to saddle him, I'll teach you chess, archery, fencing, carpentry; you'll like those things, won't you, Vincent?"

"_You know he'll catch a cold if you keep him out here for too long," a_ voice interrupted.

Adam turned around to see a familiar looking woman with flowing blonde hair standing behind him. "Enchantress!" he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"_Why, to see the new arrival of course!" _the Enchantress replied with a smile, _"A boy is it?"_ She glanced curiously at Vincent. _"Ah yes,"_ she said as she gently laid a hand over him. _"And what a fine son I see him growing up to be."_

Adam felt a little uncomfortable as the Enchantress continued to coddle his son. "You're not...uh, going to cast a spell on him, are you?" he asked her nervously.

"_Oh, heavens no!"_ she laughed as she looked up at him. _"You must forgive me. The real reason I am here is to say goodbye. You see, my work here is finished."_

"Finished? As in, you're...leaving?"

"_Yes,"_ she nodded. _"You see, now that the spell has been broken, and you __and __Belle __have married and started a family together, my services with you are no longer needed. I am free to go and help another soul in need."_

"Oh," the Prince said in surprise. If the enchantress was really leaving him that would mean that there would be no more spells, no more magic. The ten years he had spent as a Beast would only be a distant memory. This also meant that he only had one more chance to ask her his question before she left him, forever. "Enchantress," he said, "Why me? With the powers you have, you could have helped someone much less fortunate than I. Why then use them on someone like me, a prince?"

"_Do you think that the worth of a man is truly defined by how poor or rich he is?"_ the enchantress replied with a smile. _"No. For eons, we enchanters have studied your kind. You humans do not realize exactly how special all of you are, to feel and think as you do, to love, to grieve, to empathize. Over ten years ago, I saw a Prince who was doomed to stray from that path, so fixed in his selfish ways, he had turned a blind eye to the true beauties of the world. I knew I had to save him and so I used my magic to strip away his human form, taking away everything that made him who he was. I watched the way he struggled for ten years__,__ so desperate to earn back his humanity. He could have remained a Beast. He could have chosen not to change. He could have even refused to free Belle that night, so fixed he was on earning back his own freedom. But he didn't,"_ she smiled_. "For he had come to see the true value in life, well enough to give it to someone else. And so my faith in humanity is reassured and my task here is complete."_

"Will I ever see you again?"

"_Perhaps one day yes,"_ she nodded._ "__Even I cannot predict what will happen in the future. But that is not for us to discuss now. For now, enjoy your time with your little one, Prince Adam __and do not forget the things I have shown you, the things you have to be thankful for on this day. Farewell."_

"Farewell, enchantress."

With that_, _the enchantress nodded her head and disappeared in a flash of dazzling light. As the Prince watched the sparks fade into the morning sky, he thought about exactly how fortunate he was. About two years ago, he believed that he didn't that have a future. He thought he was condemned to spend the rest of his life as a beast, locked away inside an enchanted castle with no means of escape. Now, as he stared at his son, he realized this _was_ his future. He had a family now, and the possibilities open to him were endless.

"Come on Vincent let's get you back to bed," he said as he carried him back into the West Wing. He put him back in his crib and looked back to the canopy bed to see Belle staring at him with half-open eyes.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked sleepily.

"An old friend," he replied.

She yawned, too tired to process this properly and nodded her head before drifting back into sleep. Adam smiled as he walked towards her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face and kissing her on the cheek. The enchantress's story could wait. Right now Belle needed her rest. He would tell her everything in the morning.

**FIN**


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